


Blood On The Streets

by Madmoome



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6116875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madmoome/pseuds/Madmoome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a hunter, Dean learned pretty fast that his life is not his own. He will always be just a weapon in a much larger war. The armour he builds around himself maybe stronger than Kevlar but when the heart is human, someone will inevitably find a way through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dive Bars

Him......  
 **Sometime, years ago.**

  
Dean Winchester sat up at the bar. One hand wrapped around maybe the fifth beer of the evening. His head, bent low towards the counter, providing a close-up view of spilled alcohol and peanut bits.  AC/DC played on the jukebox, the song was generally a favourite of his, but not today. Today he couldn't seem to drown out the lyrics, although he desperately tried.

Jesus! Just how many times did the damn song mention the word 'blood' anyway.

He screwed his eyes shut as every line of the song forced an image of the kid he and Sam hadn't managed to save. He couldn't stop picturing that lifeless body and those terrified eyes..........

Thump!

He pounded his fist against the counter top. The loud thud dragging  his mind away from the gruesome imagery. A nearby bartender jumped at the outburst and took a step forward to chastise the surly patron, but stopped at seeing glassy, apologetic eyes as Dean took a moment to lift his head.

Sammy was off somewhere else, doing.... Heaven only knew. Probably back at the motel, researching their next case on the computer. It still surprised Dean just how different they were in dealing with all this crap. Whilst Dean sat and wallowed in his failures, Sam would be focusing on the eight other kids they had manage to save from the horrific monster. But the bottom line was, Dean wanted to save everybody and struggled to handle it when he fell short.

Starting on beer number six, he gave a small chuckle when AC/DC finally ended on the jukebox and was replaced by Kate Bush. He had never been so happy to hear the haunting tones of the British songstress.  Lifting his head, Dean took a moment to cast an eye over his surroundings. Just a dark dingy bar, full of dark dingy folk. Pool table, neon beer signs, plus a half dozen booths that hadn't been reupholstered since way before the smoking ban. It was exactly the kind of place he liked.  Dive bars were like fast food joints to him. He looked for one in every town they visited.

His stare stopped on the booth nearest the jukebox, two young women sat across from each other but Dean could only see the girl facing him. The pair stood out amidst the otherwise seedy clientele and he couldn't help notice their lack of conversation. As a rule people came to bars for two reasons. To socialise, or to drink alone. They didn't seem to be doing either of those things. The girl he could see, stared absently down at the table or maybe she gazed at the glass of Bourbon sat on top of it. It didn't take him long to recognise that stare, it was the same one he'd been sporting for the last two hours. It was pretty clear she hadn't ordered the hard liquor just to look cool. It was a stiff drink. One you ordered because you damn well needed it. He didn't want to hazard a guess what troubles had brought them to such a place, looking paler than a glass of milk.

Chocolate brown hair fell across the girl's face as she lifted the whiskey with a shaky hand.  She took a sip of the dark amber liquid and Dean couldn't help but notice how fragile she looked. He considered dragging his ass off the bar stool and walking over to check they were both okay, but his hesitance only made time for someone else to beat him to the post.  A stocky looking dude with a trucker cap and denim jacket had approached the two girls. Although a little too far away to hear the conversation, Dean could still tell from the brunette's face, that the denim dude's advice  was unsolicited.  The blank stare the girl had owned since entering the bar, suddenly changed. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion as 'trucker-cap' made his move. Placing her whiskey glass back on the table, the girl slowly rose from her seat. Dean watched on, at what he assumed was a confrontational move on her part. He could almost see the storm swirling around her, as she came eye level with the dude. Then to Dean's shock the girl kept on rising until her full height towered over the guy.

Dean sucked in a breath as he looked at the tall brunette standing in a bright pink vest  and tight jeans. Damn, she looked anything but fragile now. Measured words came from her mouth and although Dean was out of earshot, it was  easy to lip-read a good number of them.  'Bad day, 'snap like a twig' and a few dozen F words were all in there. Whatever the full message had been, it certainly seemed to have the desired effect. Trucker-cap reluctantly walked away with his tail between his legs.

It was then the girl seem to sense Dean spying on her. She lifted her gaze to lock eyes with him. Her shoulders straightened out and her chin jutted slightly forward, daring him to go over and attempt what the other guy had just done. Dean's stare lingered while he considered the options. He gave her the once over, taking in the sight of the tall drink of water. On a better day, he would have gladly taken up the challenge.  Charmed his way into her good graces, but not tonight. He was just too tired, too gloomy and too drunk to get into something. Thinking better of it, Dean turned away from the girl's challenging glare.

Upon seeing his submission the 'tall drink' seemed to relax and sat back down. Dean risked a quick glance a little later and noticed dark circles under her young eyes as she quietly conversed with her friend. She kind of looked, just how he felt. Completely spent. He sincerely hoped the two of them could overcome whatever had made them that way.

How long had he been sat there now? The clock above the bar gave him his answer. Way too long! Dean slowly pushed the empty beer bottle away and pulled his heavy frame up from the stool. He felt the full hit of alcohol as he moved, confirming he'd done enough self pitying for one evening. Tomorrow, as they say, was another day. A day when it would all start again and he would need to get his head in the game, if he was to do better.

With a heavy head Dean paid his tab and walked towards the exit, but couldn't leave without chancing one more look over at the troubled brunette. As he passed close to the booth, his eyes lifted to see she was staring right back at him. He wanted to say something to her, something that would help her cope, but words were not his friend at that moment. Instead Dean managed a knowing nod of the head. It was to tell her that he understood what it was like to have a shitty day and that at some point he hoped it would get better for her.

Whether she understood the sentiment, Dean would never know, but she offered back the saddest of smiles that made his heart hurt a little. Then he turned his back to the girls and the bar, pushed open the door, breathed in a lungful of cold evening air and headed back to another in a long line of sleazy motel beds.


	2. Multi purpose weapon

Her......

**Some hours earlier**

"Please let this be the end." Melody Graves pleaded into the darkness. There was Blood everywhere, a great deal splattered across her clothes and face.  Exhausted and beaten, she pulled her new favourite blade from the guts of the........thing that finally lay motionless across the splintered floorboards. 

"Lib! Libby!" She croaked out, as loud as she could, completely unsurprised at how shaky her own voice sounded. Her cousin came running into the basement, weapon held aloft, ready to attack whatever may be there.  On seeing Melody, blood soaked but safe, Libby Graves, the older of the pair by one year, tentatively kicked the monster, ensuring it was dead before dashing over and helping her cousin to her feet.

"You okay?" Libby asked. A stupid question but Melody found herself nodding in affirmation anyway. She didn't really have the words to explain how she actually felt. The pair had spent years getting to this point. An unexplainable mixture of fear and anticipation spun around her head as she finally lifted the blade, studying it while it glinted against the moonlight.

"Well at least we know it works" she said watching light catch across symbols that were etched deep into the twelve inch, silver blade.  Libby looked at her cousin and nodded with determination. They had a weapon capable of killing just about anything, but most importantly a weapon that could actually end a demon. Which meant it was finally time to find the particular one, they had been waiting ten years to exact revenge upon. Melody looked down once again at the dead demon and tucked away the sizeable blade. The battle for the evening was done but it still left a hell of a lot to clean up.

It was still early in the night when the girls made it back to their camper van. A fancy hotel down the street held a reservation for the pair, but walking through the lobby with so much blood on their person, was straight up asking for trouble. So they clambered into the back of the van and attempted to get cleaned up as best they could. Melody looked at her reflection in the tiny portable mirror and sighed at the vision staring back. She was barely recognisable to the girl she'd been in high school. Her once dark, bouncy hair, now hung lifeless and ratty past her shoulders and the face that had radiated youth and beauty, now just looked plain tired.

In high school, Melody was one of those girls who had it all. She had grown up with money and never wanted for anything. By the time senior year came around, she had the clothes, the car and the boyfriend, all that remained was getting into a good college. Now, she was twenty-six years old and living in hotel rooms with her cousin. Those days of floral dresses and beach parties were well and truly over. Pretty much everything she owned, now fit into an overnight bag and neither of them stayed anywhere long enough to be invited to a party, beach or otherwise.

'oh! How the popular had fallen.'

She turned away from her mirror image, towel-dried her hair and managed to scrub away most of the demonic blood from her face. Even after all that, she could still feel the remains of the monster as though it had seeped into her skin. It made her feel sick.

"I don't know about you, but I could seriously do with a drink" Libby said, appearing behind her. Melody nodded, realising just how good that idea sounded.  Within a few minutes the cousins had headed for a bar on the edge of town. There was a time, not that long ago, when neither girl would have been seen dead in a joint like that. Full of shady people, nothing on the jukebox post 1986 and dubious sticky floors. But times had changed, the atmosphere in dive bars was a lot easier to handle, than the overcrowded, social drinkers of a sports bar.

As Melody sat back in one of the booths, she could feel the cold metal of the demon blade against her back. It was safely tucked under her top. Now they had a weapon that worked, there was no way she was letting it out of her sight.  Both girls sipped whiskey in silence, while they took in the enormity of what they had achieved. They could go and find the demon her had killed Libby's mother, Melody's Aunt and actually have a chance in destroying it. The end to the whole nightmare was in sight and both found the thought,  a little overwhelming.

Whilst sitting in quiet contemplation, Melody realised that wearing a bright pink vest to this kind of joint may have been a mistake. Living out of the back of a van, had given her few options in the way of clean clothes and the vest was about all she had available. It certainly stood out amongst the dull greys and dark greens that seemed to have been favoured by the other patrons. It wasn't long before she could feel eyes upon them and it was starting to agitate her. Being a girl of  5'10", left Melody with a bit of an insecurity. Childhood taunts on her lofty height, meant she was uncomfortable receiving any sort of attention. Libby on the other, could more than cope with it. Having blonde hair, cute freckles and big blue eyes, her cousin was forced to learn early on, just how to handle unwanted interest.

Three guys over by the pool table were proving to be the biggest problem. Melody could hear whispered laughs and leering aimed in their direction. Libby, who sat with her back to it all, could see unease growing in her cousin and tried desperately to get Meolody to ignore it. There was a concern, that her short-tempered cuz was still on the offensive after the earlier demon encounter. It really didn't bode well for any unsuspecting human male who wished to try their luck. To make matters worse, there was a guy sat over by the bar who kept glancing over. Melody had clocked him the minute they arrived in the bar. A heavy leather jacket, with the collar turned up, hid him mostly from view and his head was bowed low, as though the weight of the world was holding it down. When he did manage to lift his head, she could see there was a darkness to him that unnerved her and she prayed that he, along with the pool table guys just stayed exactly where they were.

No such luck. A good ten minutes later, the shortest of the pool table guys headed over towards the girls. He had a beer gut, a nasty looking trucker cap and a smug expression that Melody wanted to slap straight from his face the moment he came into view. Libby took charge and listened to the drivel the guy spouted. A hundred unoriginal lines poured from his lips and the older cousin smiled sweetly through it all, trying to give the man the gentle brush off. But he just wasn't for biting.  Melody stayed silent watching trucker-cap struggled to take No for an answer, until she couldn't take it any longer. Her impatience got the better of her and rising to her feet, Melody squared up to the guy. She couldn't remember the exact words she said to him but they didn't beat around the bush. Trucker- cap was plainly informed of imminent pain he would suffer if he didn't leave them alone.

As the dude scuttled back to his pool table friends, Melody was ever aware of the bar guy's stare.  He'd sat there, watching her from the moment trucker-cap came over. Even though he looked tired and beaten, he still managed to be as intimidating as hell. Melody engaged his stare, challenging him to the same treatment she had just dished out, but prayed  he wouldn't  take her on. Thankfully after a few moments he looked away.  Melody sat back down and finished her drink.

It wasn't long until she caught sight of the bar guy, getting up and walking to leave. Although he scared her a little, Melody couldn't seem to stop looking his way. He passed by and they shared a little exchange that strangely made her stomach flip. Then he was out of the door and gone.

That night, as the girls lay on comfortable hotel beds, Melody was surprised at just how easily sleep came. She was sure the events of the day would threaten to invade her dreams, but instead she peacefully drifted off, her thoughts filling with a calming influence. She dreamt of warm colours flowing into each other. Greens and pinks carried in waves across her mind.

Melody had no idea what the colours meant but it left her feeling at peace and unafraid.


	3. Flasher-Mac

**A few months later**

Castiel sat watching ducks swim across a small lake. It was all very peaceful and beautiful. He had been sitting there, alone, for a good three hours, when a call for help came over the Angel waves. He sensed the call was Dean but there was something that didn't feel quite right.

A second later the Angel was stood in some sort of rundown house, watching the residual energy of a ghostly old woman, run screaming towards two girls, who sat huddled on the floor. The ghost had a truly terrifying shriek and he could tell looking at the state the  girls were in, that it was giving the horrifying performance on a regular loop.  Castiel looked around the rest of the room, trying to locate Sam or Dean. He was so sure the distress call had come from where he presently stood, but it was hard to make sense of stuff with the apparition screaming through the house. Whilst still looking around, he spied a silver zippo lighter on the floor, next to an old wooden hairbrush. Trying to put the pieces of the situation together, Castiel made the assumption that the girls were trying to rid the house of the spirit, by burning one of the ghosts possessions.

Castiel picked up the lighter, struck it once and set the flickering flame to the old hair brush. Right Before his eyes, the ghost burned-up, leaving silence in her absence.

He stepped over to the two girls sat huddled on the floor, their heads shielded by each other's arms. He frowned looking down at them, becoming even more confused. It had been the dark-haired one that sent the call for help, he could sense it from her, but he had been so sure it was Dean. Upon hearing the newly silenced room, the Brunette cautiously lifted her head, then recoiled backwards at the unexpected vision of the full-grown man in a long beige Mac standing in front of her. She fumbled for her weapon whilst leaning foward and pulling the blonde girl backwards, keeping distance between them . Castiel frowned again as he looked down at their frightened faces.

"Dean?" He hesitantly asked. The Winchesters had been in some very strange situations over the years. The idea of a body switch was not beyond the realm of possibility.

"Do I look like a Dean to you?" The brunette abruptly answered, pointing her knife at him, at arms length.

"No, you do not look like Dean but you.......feel like him" Castiel answered, finding it strange that this girl had such a similar energy to his friend, it appeared that she may even have his short-temper too.

"I feel like him, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Never mind, I'm more Interested in who you are and how you got in here?" She asked, starting to stand and helping the blonde to her feet. Castiel heard the blonde suddenly cry out in pain before he could answer her questions. She was hurt, it looked like a damaged ankle. Sprained or maybe even broken. He tried to step forward and offer his help, but the dark-haired girl jabbed the knife forward, warning him to keep his distance.

"I am Castiel and I heard your call for help" he politely answered.

"How did you get that lighter to work? " she began, looking at the zippo Castiel had in his hand. "I tried to get a spark on that thing for the last hour and got nothing". Castiel could see through her abrupt questioning that she was trying to hold back tears. It seemed they'd been through quite the ordeal and maybe the brunette wasn't as surly and fearless as she wanted him to believe.

"I only want to help. Please let me help you?" He said taking another step towards the blonde. Both girls cowered like injured animals, but let him approach. He helped the blonde safely back down to the floor, then placed his hand along her injured ankle. After a few moments the pain was gone. Neither girl could speak as they witnessed what was surely a miracle. Cas used the moment to initiate a conversation.

"I take it , you are both hunters? To be honest, you don't seem like the other hunters I have met. How long have you been doing this?" he asked.

"Hunters?" The blonde said, not really recognising the term in the way it was meant to be.

"Yes, hunters. You hunt and kill the supernatural, that is correct, is it not?" Castiel clarified. They nodded, but didn't seem to want to share their life story with him. He understood their hesitance, he was a stranger and hunters weren't renowned for their trusting nature. The blonde looked well now, so he took his cue to leave. He came to help and now the task was completed. Cas took a few steps back from the girls.

"I should leave. I have put the ghost to rest. You should be safe now". He announced. The two girls thanked him for the help, still a little stunned at what had happened. He was about to disappear when the dark haired girl called out.

"Hey! Who is Dean anyway?" Castiel stood and thought about that for a minute. Who was Dean to him? His brother in arms? His friend? His family?

"Dean is.........important" was all he could think to answer, then caught a look of confusion on the girl's face, but before they could ask more, he vanished from the room.

Libby stood up and walked around a little on her newly healed ankle. She looked over at her cousin who was clearly still startled over what had just happened. A man had disappeared into thin air!

"He was kind of cute" Libby said and watched as Melody laughed a little and shook her head.

"Lib! The guy had a trench coat. Serial killers and Flashers wear trench coats. You really have the most frightening taste in men." Melody answered, brushing off dust and cobwebs from her clothes.

"What do you think he was?" Libby followed up. It was obvious that he wasn't human by the little magic trick he had performed.

"I have no idea. Remember what Dave told us back at the roadhouse?" Everything you can possibly imagine is real. I think it's safe to say the 'flasher-Mac wearing dude is on a very long list of possibilities." The two shuddered at the mention of Dave. He was the only guy they had encountered who knew about this kind of stuff. Occasionally when Google failed to provide the answers they needed, Dave was their second port of call. Pushing that thought from their minds, Libby pulled open the door and let fresh air pour into the haunted house. It was a relief to get out. The whole evening had been a foolish endeavour. Both girls had believed that if they had managed to kill a demon then a ghost would be a cake walk. How wrong they had been. The screams of that ghostly old woman would surely follow them long into the evening.

* * *

 

Sam and Dean sat at the dining table of the motel. Sam was scrolling through the Internet while Dean scanned pages of Bobby's journals. They both felt the change in the room and jumped a little to suddenly see Castiel stood in front of them. Both rolled their eyes at the Angels preferred method of dropping by.

"Cas! Nice of you to join us" Dean said with a little sarcasm at his friends ability to almost give them heart attacks with his sudden appearances. The lack of response and deep frown on the Angels face, forced Sam to look up from the computer.

"Hey Cas! Are you okay? You look a little more confused than usual"

"I just came to check you were both well" he began, intriguing the boys with the statement .

"Why would we not be okay?" Dean asked

"I've just been to help two girls...." Castiel began

"Were they hot?" Dean quickly interjected, forcing Sam to give his brother one of his reproaching glares. The question, however, did not put Castiel off.

"I went because I thought they were you" he tried to explain. Causing the boys to look at their friend with growing concern.

"You thought we were a couple of chicks?" Dean asked, horrified. But Sam feared there was more happening than Castiel was saying.

"Is there something going on, Cas? Do these girls need our help?" Sam asked, ready to pack up and follow the Angel to their next case, but Castiel shook his head.

"No, they are okay now. I just came here to check you were both fine and didn't require my help." Dean stretched out on his chair and yawned slightly.

"We're good Cas, I have pie if you want to stick around a while. We're going to watch a movie." Castiel smiled at the invitation and watched as Dean handed his brother a beer across the table.

"What movie are you watching?" He enquired, whilst following the pair over to a ratty looking couch, facing the TV.

"Any which way but loose, or Tango and Cash" Sam replied, looking at Cas with apologetic eyes.

"These are good movies Sammy, you really need to understand that. They don't make them like this anymore" Dean conveyed, taking offence at his brothers attitude to the choices.  He turned back to the TV and shovelled a mouthful of pie into his face. Castiel sat back, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the two brothers. He rarely witnessed this side to them. They were always so business focused, knee-deep in blood and guts. It was good to see the fraternal bond in a calmer setting.  Dean seem to ease as Clint Eastwood's face filled the screen. After a few minutes the hunter looked over at Castiel.

"Cas! Seriously, those girls you went to help. They are okay aren't they? They're not in any trouble?"

Castiel really studied his two friends for a moment, ever amazed at their willingness to walk straight into danger in order to help someone. Then he thought about the two girls and the dark haired one he had mistaken for Dean. She seemed to possess that right stuff that ran though this two mortal friends. He figured, that even if the brunette had just one ounce of spirit the Winchesters boasted, they would surely be just fine.


	4. Butter knives

Him.....

**A few weeks later**

The Impala pulled up outside a diner on the main street of a town called Church. The brothers were a little surprised to see an amount of police activity so quickly at the scene.

"You think someone beat us to it?" Sam questioned, as they both climbed from the car fully suited in their FBI garb. The two had been busy interviewing victims of weird occurrences in the area, deducing the commonality to be an accountant called Martin Underwood. No sooner had they climbed back in to the car, did the police scanner reveal that a Martin Underwood had been found dead in a local diner.  
Back outside the diner Dean stood on the sidewalk pulling uncomfortably at his neck tie.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time we've turned up somewhere and found that another hunter has cleared up before us." he replied to Sam as the pair walked across the street . They flashed their badges to gain access and greeted the Police Chief, asking for a briefing on the situation.

The body of Martin Underwood lay bloody on the floor with a butter knife sticking out of his chest. That was number one on a list of things that didn't sit right with the scene. Martin Underwood had a demon inside him and demons were not normally ganked by general-use cutlery. They listened to the Chief speak, while scanning the rest of the scene. Blood splattered across the linoleum and the diner counter. It was a messy sight but nothing the brothers hadn't seen a thousand times.

"We have four witnesses. The couple over by the window" the Chief began, gesturing to a middle-aged husband and wife sat at a booth, looking shell-shocked and being handed soothing cups of coffee by a deputy.  "And the two girls over by the counter" he added pointing at a pretty blonde and a tall brunette.  "So the story goes, Martin Underwood came in to rob the place, locked the staff in the store room, attacked the married couple, knocking them clean out. Then he went after the girls," the Chief said. Up to that point everything seemed plausible.

"Then apparently the girls put up a fight and in amongst the tussle, the guy fell and stumbled awkwardly onto the knife." He concluded. That was the part the brothers had problems with. If they were going to work out what really happened they would need to speak to the witnesses. Both brothers took a step towards the young girls, keen on interviewing them and not the married couple across the room. They realised the problem and both instinctively held out a fist.

"Okay, winner gets the girls." Dean announced as they counted to three on 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. Sam won, which he always did,  because Dean rarely deviated from choosing Scissors. Dean scowled as he turned his back on his sibling.

"Well, don't go falling in love now, Sammy. We all know that doesn't end well." He bitterly said, incapable of letting his brother have the moment of triumph. The comment rolled of Sam's back as he walked over to the girls, sporting a rather smug grin.

"Hi, I'm Agent Tufnel and over there is my partner Agent Smalls." Sam said, a frown growing across his forehead, as he studied the cuts and bruises all over the girls faces and arms. They certainly seemed to have taken a beating.

"I just want to ask you a few questions about what happened here" he began, then noticed the tall brunette checking him out. Her forwardness made him a little uncomfortable and it put him slightly off his game.

"Sorry, what was your name again?" The tall girl asked.

"Agent Tufnel. I'm with the FBI" Sam repeated nervously.

"And your partner?"

"Smalls!" Sam replied , not noticing a tiny smile fleeting across the girls face.

"So, could you tell me what happened, as best you can remember?" He asked sincerely. The blonde started off with the account, quoting the Police Chief's tale about Martin Underwood knocking out the married couple and locking away the diner staff.

"Then he came running at Melody, pulling her all over the place." The blonde said, then was interrupted by the dark haired girl, who continued the story.

"Yes, that's right, he punched me so hard that I couldn't see straight.  I thought I was a goner, but I managed to find some strength from somewhere. I kicked him hard between the legs....." She said and Sam was sure he could hear the slightest of wobbles in her voice as she recalled the event.

"Then with the slight upper hand, I was all Hello Cleveland ! I managed to get a few hits in and thought I was doing some damage, but after a few minutes he seemed to turn it up to eleven, and threw me against the counter".  Sam once again looked at the bruising along her arms from the impact of the counter, as the blonde took over the story.

"He was a little dazed when he advanced towards me. It caused him to stumble and he fell into me. He must have hit one of the knives as he went down". She surmised.

"Hmmmm. If he fell forward, on top of you, then how is he lying on his back right now?" Sam asked with suspicion and watched the blonde swallow hard, hesitating before she answered.

"Well, he was laid on top of me and I couldn't move, so I pushed him off me and he fell backwards". She said. Sam found himself glaring at her, completely unconvinced by the story.

"It's true, the whole thing was really messed up. If I had to review it all in two words, it would be Shit Sandwich" the brunette concluded, forcing his stare away from the blonde.

"You need to stop now Sammy. They know we're not Feds." Dean said appearing from behind his little brother. Sam looked confused by Dean's interruption, which just made the elder brother roll his eyes.

"She Sussed out our Agent names. The girls have been quoting lines from Spinal Tap for the last ten minutes." He said, slightly exasperated by his brothers lack of pop culture references. It took Dean less than a minute to move into another well rehearsed lie.

"The truth is we are reporters and we heard about some strange incidents happening around here. We just wanted a bit of information for a story." Both girls seem to bristle upon the words 'reporters' and that's when Dean noticed a familiar looking mark on the brunette's wrist, hiding beneath a group of friendship bracelets as she straightened up in readiness to leave.

"Listen, we are a little shaken up by the events here and you just made us relive it for you. Right now we just want to go home and forget all about it". The blonde said with a slightly aggressive tone. The two boys stepped back, hands up in submission. They let the girls walk out of the door, watching which direction they headed in.

"Did you see the tattoo on her wrist?" Sam said quietly to his brother.

"Anti-possession mark!" Dean confirmed

"And I saw a flash of a blade, behind the blonde's back. It looked a hell of a lot more effective than a butter knife". Sam added.

"They didn't look particularly traumatised by the events did they?" Dean posed and then confirmed what they already knew.

"They're hunters and sloppy ones at that".

"Ok, let's go and head them off" Sam proposed, taking steps towards the door but stopped briefly when his brother cast an eye, once again over the blood stained counter. Dark, red splashes ran all along the top and up the glass enclosed cake stand.

"Hey!" Dean gruffly called towards a waitress, who looked pale and shaken from her experiences of being locked up. The woman looked at Dean, expecting to be questioned more about what she had seen. Dean just pointed at the cake stand.

"That pie. Is it Apple?"

Sam manhandled his brother by the shoulders and carried him out of the diner before Dean could hear his answer. He shook his head with utter amazement as they started up the street in the direction the girls went.

"Pie! Really? You are truly unbelievable!"


	5. Quick Exit

Her......

The girls quickly put distance between themselves and the diner. It was just a matter of time before the police worked out the knife in Martin Underwood's chest wasn't from an accidental fall. They planned to be long gone by then. Melody Graves thought they were free and clear until she heard the low growl of a car engine behind her. The following moment, a long black muscle car pulled up in front of them, almost mounting the sidewalk. Out of the passenger window, the tallest 'fake fed' leaned his head out. Concern filled his face as he called over to them.

"You need to get in the car" he said. Melody noticed there was a softness to his tone, but his body language clearly suggested the request was non negotiable. The persistence of these two guys was beginning to get a little scary and both girls shook their heads, declining the offer. Libby cast her eye back towards the diner, reminding her cousin that time was of the essence and standing on the street was not a good option. The shorter guy in the car seem to notice their reluctance and leaned across his partner, to the open window.

"I'm guessing you realise you're both moments away from being on the police most wanted list, so you need to get in the damn car, now!" He ordered. His words a far cry from the gentle tone of his partner. The cousins knew if they didn't get into the car quickly, they were stuck on foot, which would cut down their chances of a clean getaway.

The car pulled back onto the street before Melody had managed to sit down properly in the back. The boys seemed as keen to make distance from the town as they were. Silence filled the car as it drove to the outskirts. The rattle and roll of the engine had a calming effect on Melody. It was a strong sound, like a steady heartbeat. It helped regulate her own.

"Where were you girls heading?" The taller of the two asked, turning in his seat to look back at them both. Melody studied him for a moment. She would definitely describe him as her type. He was super tall for a start and had beautiful high cheek bones. He looked strong but spoke softly. She didn't know who these guys were, but looking at him, while he pushed his hair behind his ear, made her want to get to know them better.

"We were going back to my van. It's parked about a mile out of town" she eventually remembered to reply. She watched as he looked over at the other guy.

"Okay, we'll take you to your van, but then we need to have a little chat. My name is Sam and this is my brother Dean" he said pointing across to the driver. Melody caught Dean's eyes in the rear-view mirror. The brother certainly didn't appear to have the easy nature that Sam possessed.

"Melody"  
"Libby"

The girls introduced themselves, slowly taking a moment to wonder if they  should have use fake names, but settled on telling the truth. Sam smiled, acknowledging the introductions, then turned to face forward again as they travelled the rest of the way.

"Here! Stop here! This is where we left the van." Melody called from the back seat, catching sight of the VW Camper parked in a tree-lined lay-by.

"Seriously?!" Sam asked, chuckling at the sight of the girls camper. His brother expressed quite the opposite reaction, while pulling up along side the vehicle. The guy looked horrified.

"You have got to be kidding me, this.....this is your ride?" He yelled, as though the mere sight was offensive. They all climbed out of the Impala and Melody felt a little anger grow at Dean's constant confrontation.

"What is your problem? What is so wrong with my damn car?" She yelled back, finding herself becoming quite defensive over a hunk of metal on wheels.

"It's pink!" Dean exclaimed, as though that answer alone was enough of a reason. But the girls blank expression made him expand his point.

"It's not even vintage or has a split screen" he said, looking truly disappointed.

"What do you care what colour my ride is, Dean?" She asked and then took a step back away from him.

"My problem? My problem is that you two are hunters. Hunters are supposed to stick to the shadows, they are supposed to hide in the dark. They do not gank demons in public places, then get caught at the scene by the police. And they do not attempt to escape in a bright pink getaway car. " He spoke like a father would do , lecturing his disobedient children.

Melody cast away his angry tones. She was more interested in something else he said. Hunters. It had been the second time they had been called that. The mention of it brought back memories of the strange guy, who had saved them from the ghostly old woman. Libby shook her head trying to make out she didn't know what Dean was talking about. The small blonde always excelled at the innocent act. But the guys weren't buying it. Dean's fury hadn't diminished as he grabbed Melody's arm, turning it over.

"Don't pretend with us. We know you are hunters, we saw the anti-possession mark on your wrist" he said, rubbing his thumb across the black design inked on her skin. An unexpected tingling sensation shot through Melody's body at the feel of Dean's light touch on her wrist. It threw her off course for a moment and it took the sound of Sam's softer tone to bring her back.

"Plus, we saw the demon blade you are carrying" Sam added, pointing to the flash of silver peeping out, under Libby's shirt.

"We are hunters as well. Sam said, quickly flashing his own anti-possession tattoo under the neck of his t-shirt.

"We're the Winchesters" he added, waiting for a spark of recognition at the family name and was surprised when it didn't come.

"Fine, you're hunters, we're hunters, what does it matter? Melody asked, just wanting to get into her camper van and get the hell away from the place.

"Listen, we've been doing this our whole lives and to be honest, we are pretty damn good at it. When we meet someone who is putting themselves in danger, Well, we feel responsible." Dean said, fury still swirling around him. Sam stepped forward, standing In front of his brother, trying to take some anger out of the situation.

"Look, you can't go around doing what you did today at the diner. You are going to get yourselves killed and maybe other people too. You are going to tell us your story and we will see if we can help you". Sam said, gesturing over to a picnic table at the far end of the lay-by. As they approached the benches, Melody stopped walking and looked at her cousin, once again remembering back to the strange guy who healed Libby's ankle. Hadn't he mentioned the name Dean?

"Hey, do you......do you know a guy in a trench coat?" She asked, feeling a little silly for asking. There had to be thousands of people called Dean knocking around. But the description she had given, made the brothers whip around.

"You know Cas?" Dean asked seriously, a quizzical look over his face. Was he called Cas? She couldn't remember. Sam saw the girls struggling to recall his name and prompted them.

"Castiel! His name is Castiel".

"Yeah, that's him. Well, we don't know him, just met him the once, but he made quite the impression." Libby answered, quickly glancing down at her ankle.

"So who is he?" Melody enquired, and for the first time, saw a change in Dean as he considered his answer. His shoulders dropped, the anger in him began to wane.

"Cas is a friend" he simply said, not expanding and Melody knew there was just more to that mystery man than meets the eye. But with the topic of conversation clearly going nowhere, the girls sat down and told the brothers their tale. It was Libby's story to tell, even though Melody had been there when it had happened.

She let her cousin tell them about the night they arrived home together to find Libby's mother being tortured by the demon. It felt like they had told the story a thousand times, but Melody quickly realised when hearing the words out loud that they hadn't. This was actually the first time they had ever told anyone else. It just felt like old ground because the images from that night lived with them every single day.

The boys listened and she could see their eyes set in a trance on occasion. She wondered if they had been through a similar experience. Melody assumed they must have, why else would someone become a hunter.

"My aunt made a deal with the Demon" Melody said, seeing that Libby was struggling to continue with the story. Dean seemed to guess the rest.

"Right! a crossroads Demon. So don't tell me, you just happen to walk in 10 years later, in time to see the hounds come a running " he suggested but Melody shook her head. She had since learned that hell hounds were usually used to collect souls but in this case the girls walked in on the Demon doing its own work.

She closed her eyes and could see her aunt still alive on the floor, covered in blood and screaming as the monster cut into her, slicing and carving through her skin. The girls tried to stop it, but the Demon slammed them against the wall, holding them by an invisible force. Making them watch the slow death of the woman who had brought them both up. Neither girl would forget that evil smile as the Demon told them, if you make the deal , then you have to pay the price. Melody looked across the table at the two boys, to see both of them looking away in silent thought. Her story had definitely had an effect on them.

"Okay "Dean began quietly, realising that they weren't just a couple of girls who had read too much YA and wanted to play at being a hero. They had reasons for doing what they were doing and he could respect that. He stood up from the table and walked towards the pink VW.

"Right, show us what you are packing. I want to make sure you have the right tools for the job. "

The girls pulled up the back seat of the camper to show the boys their weapons collection. There wasn't a lot there, a shot gun, a few handguns and a collection of knives. Sam picked up a few and studied them. They were good quality, most bought new, unlike the stuff they had collected and stolen over the years.

"Where did you manage to get all these? "He asked.

The girls looked at each other before reluctantly admitting the truth.

"We have money. Quite a bit. That was what my Mom made a deal for. Now we are using it to get revenge" Libby said, expecting judgement, from the brothers. Maybe they felt her mother got what she deserved. Trading her soul for a fortune. But the boys said nothing. They had learned a long time ago that things were always more complicated than appeared to be. Sam walked back to the Impala, opening the trunk and pulling out various items.

"Here, you're going to need these "he said, handing over a multitude of objects. The girls took hold of a bag of rocksalt, holy water, wooden stakes, something that looked like a syringe of blood, which they later learned was dead man's blood and some paper with Latin on it. Dean started trying to offer more help and though it was appreciated,  they didn't want it. It was hard to explain, but finding this Demon was a private matter. It was important to do it themselves.

"You can't continue out there on your own. I honestly don't know how you have managed to live this long. "he said

"Don't worry, we have someone we can contact for help if we really need it "Melody said, expecting the brothers to just accept the answer.

"Who? "

Melody rolled her eyes at having to explain herself.

"He's called Dave and he lives over in Lubbock ". She said, then watched as both guy's eyebrows nearly reached the sky.

"Dave Marsh? Crazy Dave Marsh, with the long hair and the scar on his forehead" Melody nodded not quite believing that the boys knew who he was.

"That's your contact? Just awesome. As I seem to remember, that guy is not easy to get information from" Dean began, clearly unhappy with the girls choice of hunter friends.

"In fact, if I remember rightly, he likes payment for information he bestows and I don't mean payment in a monetary way " he said, studying the girls reaction. Both Libby and Melody avoided Sam and Dean's eye contact. It was true. That's why the guy was the very, very last resort. He liked the personal treatment and the girls were ashamed to admit they had given it to him. Melody heard the guys mutter expletives under their breath, then Sam pulled out a contact card.

"We can accept that you want to do this your own way, but please, if you need help and information don't go to Crazy Dave . Call us and we'll do what we can. " Melody took the card. Agent Tufnel of the FBI. It was a fake name he'd used at the diner, but he assured her the number worked. They talked a while longer, offering advice in getting the girls where they needed to be. But eventually it was time to part ways. Libby climbed into the van and Melody was about to follow when Dean called her back.

"Hey Mel!" He said, shortening her name, like they had known each other years.

"One last thing. Get rid of the van. It looks like something that would happen if Barbie stole Scooby-Doo's ride."


	6. Magic Fingers

Him.......

  
**6 months later**

Sam pushed a shirt into the bag that lay across his motel bed. A familiar low rumble had him grinding teeth and each item packed was done with increasing aggression. He looked over at the source of the annoying sound, to see Dean's smug face laying across the bed, enjoying magic fingers once again. It was one of those infuriating habits that was amplified ten fold when living so closely with someone. Sam found himself gripping the sides of his now full bag, seconds away from hurling the thing with as much force as possible, at his brother's face. Luckily his cell phone rang and the lack of caller ID intrigued him enough to steer this thoughts away from sibling violence. He answered the call cautiously.

"Agent Tufnel?" The female voice on the other end asked.

"Err....yes, this is Agent Tufnel" Sam replied, his eyes instantly finding his brothers. Dean sat up and listened with interest, as he put the phone on speaker. They both rapidly tried to think back to when they had used that alias. They'd had so many fake names over the years, it was hard to remember who they were supposed to be. There was a pause at the other end of the line and Sam could tell that the caller was uncomfortable having to contact them.

"Listen!....I can't remember your real names, but I can tell from your voice, that you're the tall, sexy one" the girl said, making Sam gulp with unease at being described as such. Dean just smirked at his brother's awkwardness.

"Derek!...or something like that, was the other guy with you. The cocky SOB, who thinks he has all the answers" she continued, wiping the smirk instantly from Dean's face and in turn placing one on Sam's.

"Yeah, ok lady I can hear you. Now who are you? And what do you want? Dean butted in gruffly, making Sam smile even more at his brother's hurt response.

"We met you a few months ago, after an incident in a diner." The girl seemed to be keeping things vague, Sam wondered if she was in a public place and couldn't speak freely.

"I was with my cousin and you gave us some advice, because we are in similar lines of work" she added, causing the boys to trawl back through old cases, trying to remember meeting the girl.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember you. The pink mystery machine right? The cute blonde and Barbie-doo" Dean said picturing Libby and Melody Graves standing by the side of that bright pink camper van.  Sam shook his head at his brothers blunt description of the two girls and took back charge of the conversation.

"What exactly do you need?" Sam asked, putting distance between himself and Dean.

"Well, as you know, this job of ours can get pretty solitary. A while back we met a guy in the same line of work and he wasn't....." She paused for a moment causing Sam and Dean to frown heavily, wondering what she was going to say. They knew a fair amount of hunters, but knew a fair amount of douche bags as well.

"Let's just say he wasn't a good guy "Melody settled on.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you're not too busy, or too far away, whether you could come and help me out." She said. The boys looked at each other. They had literally just finished a case and were planning on a few days off. Rest and relaxation  were on the immediate agenda.

"Where are you? "Sam asked, walking over to one of the maps on the table. Pointing at a location as she gave it to him, then working out, just how long it would take to get there. Dean shook his head, begging him silently to decline. They argued in hand gestures and whispers, aware that the phone remained on speaker. The prolonged silence, clued Melody in to a problem at their end of the line.

"I'm not asking you to come down here and fight a damn war. I just need a little help and support. One evening tops "Melody almost begged. Dean caved when he heard the desperation in her voice and held his hands up in defeat to his brother. Sam turned back to the map and placed his finger on a small town.

"Okay, Melody, we are pretty far away from you, but if you start driving south, will meet you somewhere in the middle. You need to head to a town called Royale in Nebraska", He advised, finishing the conversation and ending the call.

"What the hell Dean? She's asking for our help and you don't want to go ". Sam yelled at his brother. Dean couldn't answer. He laid back on the bed and covered his head with his hands. He remembered the girls. Could picture their faces when he closed his eyes. They weren't real hunters, weren't  jaded and beaten down like the rest of them. It was just a matter of time before they were dead. He knew he was being selfish, but he really didn't want to get to know someone new, just to watch them die, some point down the line.

* * *

  
Darkness had fallen when they finally arrived in Royale, but it didn't take long to locate the girls.

"Is that what I think it is? "Sam said, forcing them to lean forward and look out the windscreen, straight at the pink campervan parked outside a bar.

"I swore I told her to dump that thing. "Dean growled under his breath, as he pulled along side it. Inside the bar, Sam spotted Libby at the far end and pushed his way through the crowds to get to her. The joint certainly seem the place to be for the evening. Libby frowned seeing them both approach, as though she hadn't known they were coming.

"Hey! I know you two. You were the Feds over at that diner. What are you doing here?" She said, slightly slurring her words.

"Wait! So you weren't expecting us?" Sam asked, a little puzzled, then turned to see Melody coming back from the bar with two beers in tow. The tall girl stopped when she saw them, a look of guilt evident on her face.

"Did you call these guys? I can't believe you. Did you think they come and change my mind?" Libby barked at her cousin.

"Hey! Hey! One of you needs to tell me right now, why we have just driven two and a half hours up state, on your day off". Dean demanded, in his usual surly tone. He grabbed one of the beers in Melody's hands, that was meant for Libby and took a huge swig. Libby spoke while her glare remained firmly fixed on her cousin.

"I told Melody yesterday, that I'm out. I can't carry on this mission to find the thing that killed my mom. I've just had enough." Dean sat down opposite Libby, handing the girl back her beer.

"Well, that's the first sensible thing I've heard come out of either of your mouths since the moment I met you." He said. Sam asked what had happened for the sudden change in heart.

"We helped a guy out on a job. His name was George Palmer." Melody began. The brothers shifted in their seats at hearing the guys name. They knew him, pretty well in fact. He was an exceptional hunter, that joined forces with their father on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, he was ruthless. George Palmer didn't much care for how the job got done, or who got hurt in the crossfire.

"He had a plan to go in and kill a nest of vampires. We were so prepared and ready, but it turned out, he had walked us straight into a trap". Libby said, swallowing down the rest of her beer, letting Melody continue.

"I don't mind going in as bait, just as long as I know that's my role before hand. But he just served us up, as the main course to these monsters, while he bided his time to pounce "she said, looking at the distress in her cousin's eyes.

"We fought for our lives and almost lost. We managed to take four down before George decided to join the fight". Melody added, then took a hearty swallow of her own beer.

"You ganked four vampires?" Sam asked, with a little admiration in this tone. Dean knocked back a shot of Tequila and studied the pretty blonde. She had beautiful blue eyes and a sexy little pout. He could see how their partnership could work so well. She would lure in the monsters , with her sweet damsel appearance and then the tall drink could stab them in the back, or slice their heads off, if the situation required. But the fact that she was sat in a bar, saying she wanted out, was exactly why the girl wouldn't live long as a hunter. The stuff they dealt with never really got any easier or less scary. These girls had only been hunters for a few years. They still remembered how to live a normal life, they could go back to that.

"I hear you blondie. I wouldn't wish this life on my worst enemy. If your head and heart aren't in the game, then just go and make a proper life for yourself. Finish your education, fall in love, travel the world". Dean replied, his eye contact fixed on Libby, making her smile a little. He clinked his bottle neck against hers, toasting her decision, then saw Melody sulk off in his peripheral vision. He looked over to Sam, asking what was wrong.

"She asked us down here to talk Libby out of leaving the business, not help her pack." He said, Dean cursed loudly, then rose from his seat.

"Sammy, get another round of beers. I'll go and talk some sense into her" he announced, then headed out into the parking lot. He found her sat on the inside step of the camper and headed over to issue yet another one of his jaded and condescending lectures.

"Listen, sweetheart, I'm not about to lie and tell a terrified girl to continue risking her life everyday, just so she can keep her cousin happy". Melody lifted her had to face him, her hand wrapped around a bottle of vodka.

"She's not a terrified girl. Actually she's pretty fearless. Much more than I am anyway" she said, but Dean found that hard to believe from the feisty brunette.

"Fear isn't the problem, it's trust. Sometimes we can't do this crap alone and it seems that every hunter we meet for help, wants to screw us, in one way or another" she said, leaning back against the step and drinking down the vodka like it was water.

"So, what makes you think that we are any different?" Dean asked, as he took hold of the vodka she held out for him.

"Last time we met, you offered us help and asked for nothing in return. Yesterday I asked you to drive across the country, and you did. No questions asked." Dean thought about that for a minute, as he leaned back against the passenger door of the Impala. The two vehicles were parked side by side, close enough that as he relaxed his posture, his feet entangled with hers, in the space between them. He passed back the vodka.

"I won't go and tell Libby to change her mind Mel, I think this whole mission, is actually yours not hers. You think that keeping her with you will stop you going to the dark side". Dean said. He saw a little too much of himself in the girl sat across from him. Libby clearly was to Melody, what Sam was to him.

"I need her to help me, I can't do it alone" she admitted, wearily.

"So, don't do it at all, go back with Libby and make a better life for yourself" Dean begged. Melody shook her head, silently telling him that wasn't an option.

"Why not?" He demanded and watched her look down at the half empty bottle of vodka. She took long deep breaths, then began to tell him what was her driving force. Melody was 18 when her Aunt died, but it wasn't until  she turn twenty, that she and Libby began their demon hunt. After waking up in a hospital bed from an accidental overdose on her 20th birthday, Melody knew things needed to change. Her cousin had spent this same two years shut up in a psychiatric hospital. It seemed telling the authorities that a demon killed your mother, bought you a one way ticket to the crazy house.

Poor Libby spent that time on a cocktail of prescription drugs, while Melody worked her way through the illegal kind, consuming anything that would stop her remembering, what she had seen.

"It was the guilt that nearly killed me in that hospital bed. It was eating away at me from the inside. I had stood and watched them take Libby away and I did nothing to stop it. Just walked away and stuck my head in the sand" Melody told Dean. Her eyes welling, thick and fast.

"It took me two years to work out what was right. Then I busted Libby out of the crazy house and promised her, I wouldn't stop, until I had ended the monster, that not only destroyed her mother but us a long with her". Dean watched as she lifted her face to the sky, trying to force the tears back into her eyes. She was so determined not to let any of them fall.

An earlier thought hammered through his brain. He hadn't wanted to come on this trip. These two girls, in his opinion were just new meat for the grinder. He hadn't wanted to get to know them or let them in. But holy crap! They were making it so damn hard not to. He looked over at her, almost regretting his next words.

"Listen, Sam picked this town to meet because he thinks there's a case here. Most likely a vengeful spirit. We could probably do with an extra pair of hands to sort it out. So, why don't you get your cuz, to do one last job and we promise not to use you as bait", he said. Melody looked at him, a sad smile of gratitude on her face. He had a fleeting thought he'd seen that smile somewhere before, but then the moment was gone.

"It'll give me a chance to see what skills you can bring to the table, and you never know, it might even get me off your back about changing careers" he added, grabbing the vodka from her grasp for another hit. Melody stared intensely at him for a moment while they sat, leaning against their rides. The stars were shining in a cloudless sky and muted cheers sounded from inside the bar. Her head tilted and she let out the softest of smiles.

"You know, you're actually not bad looking, once you drop the whole scowling thing" she said. Dean chuckled to himself, as he straightened up. His eyes glued to hers, unable to look away.

"That's funny,  I was just thinking the exact same thing about you".


	7. Hello, Garth

Him.......

**Months later**

Sam's phone rang while he was sat at the wheel of the Impala. Dean was napping in the passenger seat after a long drive across the country. Sam glanced at the phone display, he saw it was Melody and took the call.

"Hey! Melody, how's it going?"

Dean roused at the sound of voices in the car and watched his brother blush as he spoke on the phone. It could only mean Melody was flirting with him again. They spoke for a few minutes but traffic was starting to build, so he passed the phone over to Dean.

"Barbie-Doo!"  
"Derek!"

Dean smiled at Melody's pet for him. She remembered how it annoyed him and vowed to keep using it as long as he called her Barbie-Doo. Dean refused to call her anything else until she ditched the pink camper-van. They spoke for a while, Melody asking for advice on a case. Ever since the job they did together in Nebraska, they had stayed in touch. It turned out that both girls were pretty handy in a fight. Sam and Dean had hoped that their little encounter back in Royale, Nebraska would have proven the girls were totally unsuited to the lifestyle. Unfortunately they had some skills and more importantly the balls to walk into a fight, when they didn't know what they were walking into.

Melody had been right when she had said Libby was fearless. The girl had walked into the abandoned factory like it was a well visited ghost train. She barely flinched at whatever the spirit threw at her. After Nebraska, Libby had returned to her mission of destroying the demon that killed her mother. Finding people she could trust had been the key. Sam gave her Garth's number as well as their own.

Back in the car, Dean ended the phone call with Melody as he always did. Telling the girls to take care. 

* * *

  
**3  days later**

"Thank you for talking to us Mrs Harris, We'll let you know if we find anything out" Sam said, then turned to his brother who was already pulling at his neck tie. Playing FBI agents was all good and well but they weren't suit people. He always felt he was being strangled with one on.

They turned to walk away from Mrs Harris and her personal tragedy, taking in what she had said, piecing together their latest puzzle. No more than a half dozen steps from the house Dean's phone rang. He gave a side smile at the name on the caller ID. "It's Mel" he said, turning to Sam and putting the phone to his ear.

"Dean!".

The smile on his face dropped instantly. Just by saying his real name, Dean knew something was wrong.

"Where are you?" he said and his brother watched him look to the skies, mentally calculating the length of the journey to meet her.

"Ok, sit tight, I'm on my way." he instructed and hung up the phone, looking over to Sam.

"It's Mel and Libby, We gotta go to Buffalo" he said pulling the tie completely off.

"Dean we're in the middle of a case we cant just....."

"This is more important!" Dean barked

"There have been six dead bodies, if we leave now there'll probably be a whole lot more" Sam said trying to reason with his brother. The two were set in a stand off, both staring silently, waiting for the other to back down. Dean hated when his brother was the voice of reason. He knew they couldn't leave the current situation, it was a mess and the monster needed to be ganked fast. But Dean felt a need to help those two girls, he couldn't explain his reasoning, he just needed to.

"Another hunter must be near to their location, we should call someone and let them check on the girls" Sam added, again a good sensible idea. Dean put his cell to his ear.

"Garth! Where are you right now?" he asked, Sam smiled glad that his brother was seeing sense.

"Good, I need you to come down here and help Sammy out on a case. Something has come up and I've got to split" Dean said, watching the expression change on his brothers face.

"Why do you have to be the one to go?" his brother yelled, anger obvious in his tone.

"Because I feel responsible, Sam. A few months ago we were all sat in a bar, listening to the blonde say she was all for quitting. Then I suggest they join us on a hunt and after that she's back on board" Dean explained shaking his head at his own stupidity.

"They made their own choices Dean, they are adults not kids" Sam tried to argue, but he knew his brother too well and the stubborn guilt he felt, in not being able to save everyone.

Garth showed up just over an hour later and Dean was in the car driving across country within seconds of receiving his obligatory hug from his weedy-looking friend.

"Goddamn it" Dean cursed as he threw his phone across the passenger seat with rage. He'd been trying both girls cell phones every 15 minutes for the past two hours and had no response. He put his foot on the gas and just prayed he'd make it in time.

The sun was rapidly setting as he arrived at the address Melody had hastily given him over the phone, Dean stood in the centre of the kitchen of an old farmhouse. The place was covered in blood and the girls were nowhere to be found.

He had no clue where to look next. Thoughts whirled around his head and he crouched down to the floor cursing, while trying to calm himself enough to find order in his mind. Luckily one idea rose above the rest as he looked around at all the blood. Someone was hurt bad and the best bet would have been to go to the hospital.

Dean drove a little way until he found a decent cell or wifi signal then set about searching databases and scanners for anything that could match his girls. After a good forty minutes he found something hopeful down at the city hospital.

"Hey, my name is Detective Ramis and I'm here to see a couple of girls that came in some hours ago. Tall brunette and small blonde?" Dean said flashing is badge at the hospital front desk. He added a little pout and leaned over the desk towards the nurse who was staring at his badge. Dean wasn't above using his sexuality to help him get what he needed. The nurse obliged and took him through a number of corridors until they arrived at the room. Dean stood by the doorway and looked at the body laying motionless in the bed. The nurse left him alone and he tentatively took a step towards the beeping machines, tubes and wires that seem to surround the girl.

The sight made him feel sick. Libby looked barely recognisable lying so still and so pale.

"She's not long been out of surgery" a voice said behind him.

He knew it was Melody but she sounded so forlorn, Dean turned and saw a battered and bruised version of the tall feisty girl he had come to know. Even though she looked like she'd gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson, his heart lifted knowing she was stood there on her own steam and not in a bed like her cousin.

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked and watched her walk over to the bed, staring at Libby.

"The demon found us. The one that killed my aunt. All these years we've been trying to track it down and in the end it came and found us" she began. Dean listened as she continued.

"It seems getting pally with a Winchester suddenly lights you up on the radar. The monster couldn't have cared less about us before, but now...Well, we seemed a little more threatening." Melody faced away from Dean and he watched her grip the edges of the bed. She was such a tough thing and never let anyone see her cry, but he could tell she was going to struggle this time.

"They don't know if she'll make it, the son of a bitch broke her back. It came out of nowhere and we didn't have a chance" she said, Dean could hear the break in her voice. He let her be,  just for a minute. A little time to find composure, but composure wasn't to be found. Her shoulders went first, then her head dipped forward, lastly it was her inability to speak. Emotions had got the better of Melody and she couldn't stop herself from breaking down.

"Hey!...Mel!... Hey! Dean said lightly, moving towards her and placing a hand on her shoulder. Melody tried to shrug him off but he kept coming. She turned away the closer he came, refusing to let him see her cry. In the end Dean couldn't take it any more and pulled her around. He wrapped his arms around her as she fell against his chest. Heavy sobs accompanied the tears that he felt against his heart. Dean did his best to comfort her , but there was nothing that could be said to ease her pain.

"I can't lose her, she's all I have. I just don't know what to do" Melody sobbed into Dean's T-Shirt. There was despair to her voice and her legs seem to give way a little. Dean helped her slowly down to the floor until they were both sat on the ground, legs entangled in each others. He held her close feeling utterly helpless, whispering pointless words of comfort. 

* * *

  
Her......

Greens and Pinks swirled around like gentle breezes. Melody knew she was dreaming. She'd had the dream so many times. It came to help her when life got a little too much. The colours always preceded the feeling of sanctuary. Those shades wrapped around her, leaving only calm and security. Melody let the sensation wash over her, until she felt at peace but something was different. That familiar feeling of security felt more physical than before. The colours grasped a little tighter than usual. It forced her to wake from the world she was inhabiting. Opening her eyes she found the source of the extra calm. Dean Winchester still had his arms wrapped around her. Melody realised she must have cried herself asleep, something she could quite easily do again,  still hearing the beeping of Libby's monitors.

Lifting her eyes up to his face Melody saw a peaceful looking guy. His eyes closed and breathing even. The pair of them were still tangled together on the floor. She wondered how long they had been there. Being so close to the surly warrior suddenly gave her an unexplained urge to kiss him. His lips were mere inches away from hers. If she was careful, Melody believed she could lightly press her lips against his, just for a second without him noticing. She reached up staring at those perfect pink lips and softly tasted them. The sensation made heat momentarily run across her skin. His mouth was a little dry from the AC and she could taste alcohol on him. She held her lips there a little longer than intended before pulling away, instantly wanting to do it again, but to her shock, she found him staring straight at her.

Her breath seemed to freeze in her throat realising he wasn't asleep just resting. Neither seemed able to move with shock at what had happened. Eventually her brain suddenly kicked into gear and she pulled her self away from him, managing to get to her feet.

"I'm so sorry Dean, I don't know why I did that, please forgive me" she begged starting to become distressed. Honestly unaware of why she had just kissed him.

" I asked you here to help me and instead I tried to kiss you. How could I do that while my cousin is fighting for her life?" she shouted, a little disgusted by her own behaviour.  
Silently Dean rose to his feet, his expression was serious and a little dark. She found it impossible to work out what he was thinking. What was he thinking? He took a step towards her, but a sound stopped them both. Melody looked up to see Sam standing in the doorway. She ran to the door throwing her arms around him, using him to hide her embarrassment over what just happened. Sam's presence lifted the tension in the room. They sat and talked for a good half hour covering every detail of the girls ordeal. The main concern was that the demon could come back and finish what it had started, and that wouldn't end well, while the girls were so weak.

"I've booked in to a motel a couple of miles down the road" Sam announced.

"That's good, I think you should take Mel there and the both of you get some rest. I'll stay here and watch over Libby ." Dean suggested, but Sam just looked at him in disbelief.

"Dean! you haven't slept for over two days, you are the one who needs to rest. I'll stay here, you two go back to the motel" he ordered his brother. Dean conceded and shared a quick glance of acceptance with Melody.

'Great' she thought. That wont be awkward at all.


	8. Six Foot Killer

Her......

It was hard for Melody to leave the hospital. Just removing herself from Libby's room felt like pulling on an invisible tether that joined them. She was tired, hurting and needed sleep but also terrified that if she left, it could be the last time she saw her cousin alive. Sam had taken hold of her by the shoulders forcing her eyes to gaze into his.

"I got this. I promise you if the slightest thing happens, I will call you". Sincerity poured from the eye contact they shared. Melody nodded taking a last moment with Libby, brushing a strand of blonde hair away from her cousins face and saying a silent prayer. After that there was nothing left to do but follow the older Winchester out of the hospital. The motel was only twenty minutes drive but felt so much longer. The embarrassing kiss was still playing on her mind and she felt compelled to say something to Dean about it.

"I'm so sorry for kissing you back there. I'm not sure why I did it. Maybe because you were there when I woke up and..."

"Already forgotten" Dean replied quickly stopping Melody from entering into an emotional conversation and getting them both thinking about their feelings. Melody nodded and left the topic alone. The Winchesters drove across the country acting heroically everyday, it was easy to imagine that she wasn't the first girl to momentarily fallen under their charms. The thought made her feel a little better? Breathing a sigh of relief, she leaned against the passenger window and closed her eyes for a minute.

That hum of the car filled the air. It really was a good sound. So steady and continuous. She had only been in the car a couple of times but it always felt like a safe place. Like an extension of Dean and those arms he'd wrapped around her at the hospital. She was amazed at how it ran so well, the car had to be at least fifty years old. It coughed and spluttered when the engine turned over or when it was idling to a stand still, but out on the open road, it roared with strength and stability. She knew it must take a considerable amount of care to keep the car in such good condition, considering the amount of miles it must do. Her mind unintentionally wandered to images of the brothers working on the car, shirtless and oily like something out of an old Levi's commercial.

"I love this car" she whispered and prayed Dean hadn't heard. There was an ongoing argument between them, regarding their choice of vehicle. After his last comment about her pink camper van, she had retaliated with her own insults.

'You can talk about inconspicuous, haven't you looked around lately. The world's full of hybrids and hatchbacks and you're driving around in a huge, black shiny monster. Tell me the truth. How many times do you have to drive around the block before you find a space big enough to park that thing?'

The hurt look on his face had been priceless.

The Impala suddenly jerked and Melody opened her eyes, noticing for the first time just how exhausted Dean looked at the wheel. She had taken Sam's comment that his brother hadn't slept in days as an exaggeration, but looking at him now it was clear he was moments away from falling asleep.

"You ok?" she asked

"Fine" he replied gruffly and she knew him well enough, that he wasn't about to pull-over and let her behind the wheel if she suggested they switch places.

"Can we have some music on?" she asked, hoping the sound would help keep them both awake. He reached out and twisted the knob letting 'Creedence' fill the air.

"Hey I love this one" Melody stated, singing along. The corners of Dean's mouth lifted as he listened, then shook his head and laughed.

"Don't ever audition for 'the voice'." he quipped but the comment didn't bother her. The noise kept his focus on the road and that's all that mattered. The motel room was a dump. It was damp and had a funky smell she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Do you always stay in places like this?" she asked, not quite knowing the best place to sit down. The girls had always managed to book hotels that had star ratings, room service and an in-house gym.

"Pretty much, sometimes we camp on abandoned factory floors, or sleep in the car".  
Melody hadn't quite realised just how hard 'the life' must have been for them. She had heard from other hunters, that they had been living this way practically all their lives. But standing in that room, watching him move around, boiling water for coffee, made her heart hurt. The brothers clearly had no possessions. All they seem to have was each other and that car.

"I can't believe your dad made you live like this" the words came out before she could think better of it.

"He did the best he could, Mel!" Dean replied defensively. A feeling of shame washed over her then. Questioning parental decisions was the last thing she was qualified to do. Her own parents had abandoned her into the care of her Aunt. At least John Winchester cared enough to keep his family together, teach them to protect themselves. Her family walked away when she was six months old and never returned. The comment seemed forgotten as Dean turned to her with his business face on.

"Ok, I think it's best if we sleep in shifts. If the demon is planning on finishing the job, then we need to be ready. So you take the bed and I'll carry out the first watch." Melody couldn't quite believe the guy stood in front of her. He clearly thought he was Arnie in Terminator 2. Determined to protect and fight until he fell to pieces. He desperately needed sleep but was too stubborn to concede, it forced Melody to think diplomatically.

"I've got to be honest Dean, my head is too full of crap right now to find sleep. I need a little time to clear things out, why don't I take the first watch?" she said and watched him consider that idea for moment.

"Ok, I'll only need a couple of hours rest and then we'll swap" he said, pouring the boiling water over a cup of coffee and handing it over to Melody. She set up sentry duty at the table with clear view of the door and window. One hand solidly held a revolver and the other, her cell phone in case Sam phoned from the hospital. Dean was asleep pretty much as soon as his head hit the pillow. Lying a top of the sheets, still clothed, with his boots on.

The hours passed as she sat guard, Dean clearly needed more than a couple of hours rest, so she had let him be. But tiredness was creeping up fast and she knew she would have to wake him soon to change over. An opportunity seem to present itself when the guy started making muffled sounds. It started off so quietly Melody wasn't sure if she had heard right, but soon agitated cry's from the grizzly dude grew louder and more frequent. The guy was having a nightmare.

"Dean!...Dean! Wake up!" she called out from across the room but he didn't stir.

Both boys had nightmares from time to time. They heard each other cry out in the night and had gotten used to the sounds. Each new horror tended to cancel out the one before but their experiences in 'Hell' were pretty hard to beat. Those were the ones that invaded their sleep and they doubted it would ever change.

Melody knew none of that information. She and Libby had heard stories about the Winchesters from other hunters, but they had sounded so far-fetched neither girl felt there was anything there to believe. In the end Melody couldn't take Dean's cries any longer and went over to the bed.

"Dean! Dean!" she tried again from a much closer distance, but he still didn't wake. A hand hesitated above his shoulder then eventually rested, gently shaking him awake.  
The reaction was lightning quick, within a second Dean had pulled the Colt .45 from under his pillow, pointing it straight at Melody. Her own reflexes weren't too bad as she managed to grip his wrist turning the gun slightly, so it wasn't directed at her head.  
Close to a heart attack, Melody went to yell at Dean but looked at his eyes and saw from his unfocused stare, that he was between worlds. Awake but still stuck in the bad dream. She managed to calm her own heartbeat long enough to concentrate on bringing Dean back round.

"It's me! Mel!. You're ok, you're ok" she repeated softly and watched as his vision cleared and he looked at himself holding a gun towards Melody.

"Son of a bitch" he shouted realising the effect the dream had on him. He slowly lowered the gun trying to get his breath back. Melody sat on the edge of the bed, worried at how much Dean was struggling to shake off the nightmare. It made her wonder what sort of horror could effect him so strongly. He rested his forehead against her thigh, still taking in large breaths of air. His gun hand touching her other thigh.  
She felt something for him in that moment, a kind of maternal instinct to ease his sufferings. Out of nowhere her hand found its way to gently stroking his hair and after a short while his heavy gasps of air eased, turning back into rhythmic breathing.

Wait! Had he just fallen back asleep? Just Great!

Melody was now stuck, sat on the bed with a 6ft killer half draped over her, while her gun and phone remained at the table. Her only option was to use Dean's Colt. She reached to where his hand lay on her leg and tried to take it, but even in sleep Dean's grip remained strong. Some calming words managed to coerce the piece from his hold but an empty hand obviously didn't sit right with Dean. Almost as soon as the weapon was free, the boy grasped a handful of her shirt, pulling her close. Not long after, Melody heard the door rattle and she held the gun straight, waiting for the intruder. The door swung open and Sam stood in the entrance. There was obvious confusion in his expression at finding them both sat on the bed. The last thing Melody wanted was for Mr Tall, Dark and incredibly sexy to see her in a compromising position with his older brother.

Damn it!

"He....he was having a nightmare" she weakly offered but then realised, that wasn't why he was looking so confused. Dean rarely showed weakness or vulnerability, even in front of his brother. Seeing him laid there , gripping Melody tight was something Sam had not witnessed before. He'd never witnessed it because he knew Dean would not want Sammy to see him like that. Sam looked over at Melody.

"I'm just going to leave for a minute....to get something from the vending machine. You're gonna want to wake him up while I'm gone" he said and Melody read between the lines. Pretend Sam's entrance had never happened. Dean was up and re-boiling water for coffee by the time Sam returned. It was almost comical the way all three of them refused to acknowledge anything had happened, just a few minutes earlier. But Melody was fine with that. Her thoughts were with Libby and if Sam was standing in front of them, then who was looking after her cousin.

"Ok, give us the news" Dean prompted his brother, taking a sip of the strong drink, offering another cup to Melody.

"You're going to need to come back to the hospital, now!"

"Why!" Dean and Melody both replied together, panic clear in both their voices.

Sammy gave his brother a knowing look as he replied.

"Because Cas has just turned up".


	9. Sleeping With Mermaids

Him....

The brothers could barely keep up with the tall brunette who was practically running down the hospital corridor, towards her cousins room.

"Libby, Thank God you're awake" Melody cried, as she ran to her cousins bedside. The blonde was still lying flat, still pale and battered but her eyes were open and she followed movement around the room.

"I thought I had lost you, I didn't know what I was going to do" Melody continued, unable to keep her tears back for the second time in 24 hours. At least this time they were tears of relief. Although the scene was touching, the boys were more interested in their trench coat wearing friend who was stood looking out of the window.

"What did you do Cas?" the concern clear in Dean's tone. They were trying to keep a low profile. The last thing they needed was some big Angelic act drawing attention their way. Castiel turned around, that slightly confused expression he seemed to always possess fixed firmly on his face.

"A minor miracle nothing too noteworthy I assure you" he began

"I heard your prayers and it brought me here, you two have very similar energies, it surprised me when I heard both of you praying for this young girl" he said looking between Dean and Melody. Dean turned to glance at Melody and could see the surprised gratitude in her eyes staring back at him. It was no big deal. He was known to pray on occasion. This had been one of those times simply because seeing Libby at deaths door and how it was killing Melody, broke his heart. But she hadn't needed to know that.

Damn it Cas!

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I don't understand what is going on here. What did you do to Libby? And how can you hear my prayers?" Melody asked approaching Castiel. Dean could tell they were just a couple of maybe a hundred questions she wanted to ask.

"I healed your cousin's spine. She was never in danger of dying but would have been paralysed if I hadn't helped, it was minimal." Castiel replied and saw that the brunette was still waiting for an answer to her second question.

"Well, the reason I can hear your prayers, is because I am an angel of the Lord." Castiel simply put, then let that information sink in. Dean watched Melody laugh at the idea, then turn to Libby, motioning that the guy was probably crazy. She sat down next to her cousin's bed and Dean could almost see the cogs in her brain, trying to make sense of everything. This world she was living in just became a whole lot bigger. If demons existed then it would make sense that so did angels.

"Angels! .....Angels are real?" Melody asked the boys, her eyes wide with a kind of wonder.

"Yeah, but don't get excited, most of them are dicks" Dean replied harshly but Melody wasn't listening, she stood and launched herself at Castiel, throwing her arms around him expelling waves of gratitude for healing Libby. Castiel stood a little awkwardly not quite sure how to react to Melody's attention, but Dean could see the smallest of smiles on his face. Melody turned round to face the boys.

"So Angels and Demons, Heaven and Hell" she stated, still putting together the pieces.

"All those stories we've heard about you are true, aren't they?". The boys nodded sadly.

"Even the really crazy ones?" she added. The brothers couldn't be sure what stories the girls may have heard but they presumed they included, trips to hell, meeting Lucifer and battles with Horsemen. Again they nodded letting Melody think that through for a while and slowly begin to accept what she had been told. Finally she looked up at Dean with one final question.

"Did you really sleep with a mermaid?" Dean stepped back, totally thrown by the question. That was certainly not one of the crazy stories he had heard before.

"I...er...no I didn't do that" he answered, then paused looking at Sam.

"Did I?" Sam smirked at the whole idea. Some weird stuff had happened to them over the years but as of yet, no mermaids. With Libby's health out of immediate danger, it was time to address the plan for this damn demon.

"I think we're past you trying to do this on your own" Sam said looking at the girls.

"You said the demon found you because of us. So now it's time we returned the favour. Libby! the clothes you wore when it attacked you, are they still around?" Libby slowly pulled herself slightly up in the bed and looked over to Sam.

"Yeah, not much left of them, but they're in a drawer over there" she croaked.

"Right, we'll see if we can get some DNA from the demon's vessel and then we are going to summon this thing tonight!" Libby started to pull herself further up in the bed, in an attempt to climb out. It was a stupid move. She was so dizzy and weak.

"Whoa, whoa, where do you think you are going?" Dean said looking at the blonde's feeble attempt to leave the bed.

"I'm getting ready for tonight." her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Like hell you are. This nearly ended you when you were at full fitness, right now the monster could probably kill you just by blowing you down" The elder Winchester warned.

"You can't stop me" she croaked and in turn fueled a commanding tone from Dean.

"Listen sweetheart, you are riding the pine on this one, even if I have to tie you to that damn bed."

"I think he's right Lib, I know how important this is but I'd rather have you alive at the end of it all" Melody said, finding herself standing shoulder to shoulder with the Winchesters.

"Hey, don't think that you are coming either" Dean said, realising Melody was putting herself forward for the hunt.

"What!" Both Melody and Sam said together.

"Dude, we need all the help we can get. Melody is pretty handy in a fight, why don't you want to bring her along?" Sam asked a little confused by Dean's decision. Dean could feel the steady stare of both his brother and Melody while he struggled to produce an answer. The truth was, the girl was starting to fog things up, but he wasn't about to admit that, even to himself.

"I just think we will have enough with me, you and Cas" he eventually replied, but was cut short by the angel.

"Um guys, I'm not sure if I will be available. There seems to be a lot of unrest coming over angel radio. I fear my brothers and sisters require my assistance" Castiel said looking sorry for having to bail.

"So I'm back in" Melody commented, then left the boys to sit with her cousin, before any more objections could be said. Dean could feel his brother looking strangely at him for a good few minutes. Unbeknown to him, Sam had been piecing together certain recent events involving Melody.

There was Dean's little over-reaction about Melody joining the hunt a moment ago, added to seeing him wrapped around the girl back at the motel. Then Sam remembered the awkward atmosphere between the two of them, when he had first arrived at the hospital. Lastly there was the way Dean smiled whenever he spoke to her on the phone.

"Hey. Is there something going on between you two?" Sam eventually asked his brother.

"What!....No!" Dean almost coughed out the reply, as though it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"Okay.....So do you have a thing for her?"

"Nope!" Dean couldn't help but swallow hard before he answered. There were two things Dean knew how to do better than kill monsters. One was lie to his brother and the other was lie to himself. Sam held eye contact searching for the truth before finally replying.

"Good" that one word weighed heavy with a hundred cautions. To summarise it meant 'Good, because between the Winchesters, every woman they ever got involved with either died or had their lives ruined and in turn it left them with heartache worse than any physical pain they'd endured'. Dean shook away the thoughts and got his head back in the game.

"Ok let's get this plan sorted out" he directed, inviting Castiel to listen, hoping that maybe he might be able to join them at some point.

* * *

  
Her.......

The demon stood central to the room where Libby nearly met her end, almost two days earlier. Blood still stained the floor and walls. When they first arrived, Melody struggled to contain the shakes throughout her body, as she remembered the carnage and pain she and her cousin had experienced. But the farm-house was abandoned and quiet and the last place the demon had been seen. So it was, a good a place as any to do this thing. She stood with her demon blade at the ready and it quickly became obvious that the monster didn't know Libby had survived.

"Melody Graves!. The last one standing. Don't worry it wont be long before you see your cousin and aunt again" it threatened and she gripped the knife a little firmer. The demon noticed she couldn't quite look it in the eyes and it gave a wicked cackle.

"Still? after all this time? It upsets you that I choose Roscoe as my meat suit." You're doting high school boyfriend, the one you gave your virginity to. He's still in here you know, He'll be able to feel everything I'm about to do to you." Melody stood solidly, trying to hold back the anger that was rising inside her. But the demon could see the taunting was working and laughed even more.

"Do you really think I believe you came here alone. I can feel the other presence in the room" It said looking through the darkness. It was then, that Sam and Dean stepped out of the shadows and caused the demon to step back slightly.

"Winchesters! I see you brought the big guns" it said laughing nervously.

"Well, I want this to end tonight so I got some help" Melody said and leaped forward making her move towards the monster. She managed to get a cut in and heard the demon yell in pain, but it was no more than a graze. She was then thrown back against the wall.

"Mel!" Dean called out, real panic sounding in his voice, but before the boys could advance on the demon, they heard a familiar sound of invisible snarling.

'Hell Hounds'

"You didn't think I came here alone either did you?" the demon pronounced evilly, then everything just became a bloody mêlée. Melody couldn't see much in the darkness but her hearing was perfectly fine. Rabid growls followed by shots from Dean's sawn-off filled the room. She managed to find her feet and re-engage in the fight. Everything happened so quickly. Before long the demon had her pinned to the floor. The dogs were dead and just like her Aunt it had pinned Sam and Dean against the wall watching. She could hear the brothers shout and yell at the demon to let her go but she knew that wasn't going to happen. This was the end. Melody had walked into the house knowing she would either succeed or die trying. Now she was accepting that it would be the latter. But the monster that donned the appearance of her first love, would not leave unscathed. She and the boys had managed to inflict a fair amount of damage and she hoped that once she was gone, the brothers could finish the job.

Just as it was all about to end, a figure appeared in the room, pulling the demon to its feet. She looked up to see Castiel place a hand on its forehead. Melody didn't know what to expect next, but knew Angels were known to 'smite' and she braced herself for something special. But nothing came, instead he stood there with the surprised looking demon, then uttered a single word in a calm gravely tone.

"Now!"

The demon jerked forward and Melody heard the knife slice into it's back, it turned slightly to see its attacker and saw Libby stood there with a bloody knife. She still looked physically weak but determination burned in her eyes. Libby buried the knife in again. This time in the chest as it had turned to face her. She forced it in further, holding the hilt tightly and keeping her eye contact with the thing, as it screamed and slowly checked out. Melody could only look on from the floor. Fearless. Her cousin was completely fearless. She knew the demon had been extinguished when Sam and Dean were free of the force keeping them at the wall.

The brothers ran over as Libby fell to her knees. All the strength she had, was gone. Melody could feel herself be pulled into those safe arms of Dean's, just as she watched Sam go to her cousin and do the same. Dean tried to comfort Melody, feeling her over for severe injuries and just generally checking she was ok, but it was all muffled to her. All her concentration was being used communicating silently with her cousin, across the room.

It was over. They had done it. And it was all kind of overwhelming.


	10. Much Needed Distraction

Her......

Melody sat in the back of the Impala, staring at the dark silhouetted trees that whipped past the window. The four of them minus one angel drove towards a hotel. Apparently it was common practise for Castiel to drop by unexpectedly and disappear just as quick. She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment trying to calm the growing dread inside her. The brunette had felt shaky and anxious ever since they left what remained of the demon, back at the farmhouse. She was simply struggling to process what they had achieved just a few hours earlier, but more importantly what it meant for the future. For the first time in almost a decade she was lost. So completely lost it scared her stupid.

It seemed her cousin did not have the same problem. Whatever Castiel had done to Libby was a mystery, but the small blonde hadn't stopped talking since they got into the car.

"I just can't believe it's all over. How long have we been doing this now? Finally we can go home." Libby began and all Melody could manage was a nod of the head and a shrug of the shoulders. The brunette hadn't spoken since they had killed the demon.

"God Melody, just think, tomorrow we will be out of this world of monsters and evil and can finally decide what to do with the rest of our lives, just like we said we would."

At that comment Melody glanced up and caught Dean staring at her in the rear view mirror. She couldn't place his expression. His eyes had a little sadness in them, but surely he must be relieved. How many times had he tried to get the two of them to go back and live a regular life?

The nine storey hotel finally came into view, a few hundred yards ahead. The exterior lighting gave the building extra grandeur against the dark night sky and was a far cry from where the brothers were used to staying. Their journey was almost at an end and Melody couldn't stop the agitated feeling inside her.

How was she supposed to sleep feeling this way?

Walking behind the trio into the vast lobby she felt an itch that she didn't want to scratch. The itch being, what the hell was she going to do with the rest of her life?' Where was she going to live? Would she go to college? Did she go and find a job? Would she and Libby go separate ways and would she be able to live on her own? How does she even go about answering some of those questions? The panic inside her continued to rise, while Dean approach the receptionist.

God! She needed a distraction.

In the past Melody had dealt with these kind of problems with drugs. She had been places much darker and with more shady people during that time, than she'd ever experienced in her life as a hunter. It wasn't a place she wanted to revisit. Libby was leaning against the solid frame of the younger Winchester. It seemed the girl had finally burnt out. Melody was pretty certain the girl would have no problem falling asleep.

She watched Sam place a protective arm around her cousin, whose eyes were struggling to stay open. He was a good guy. Strong and tough but still had a sensitive side. Melody couldn't help but give him the once over and admire his good qualities. He'd always been her type. Tall, intelligent, gorgeous. Sam Winchester would make one hell of a nice distraction right about now. He could easily stop her panicking about her future, even if it was just for a few hours.

"Hey! here's the first key card. Why don't you take the girls up to their room and I'll follow when I have ours" Dean said to his brother, handing over the white plastic key and bringing Melody swiftly out of the mischievous little daydream forming in her head.  
Sam walked with Libby towards the elevators, but Melody's feet didn't want to move. As she watched them disappear, she was thankful. Having Sam out of sight and out of mind was a good thing. She'd only end up falling in love with the guy anyway.

Her distraction needed to be more ephemeral. Fast and meaningless. Something that would divert her just long enough until she was too worn-out to think. She needed....

"Hey! Mel are you ok?"

Talk about timing. It was a light bulb moment for Melody, as Dean stood in front of her waiting on an answer to his question. Her head suddenly exploded with so many thoughts she wasn't even sure of the question he'd just asked. She nodded hoping that would be sufficient.

"I thought you were going up to the room with Libby and Sam" he added, but was called back by the receptionist to complete some paperwork before she could comment. Melody stared at the back of the older brother as he leaned over the reception desk. Dean Winchester! The surly one. The one who commanded and shouted. The one who liked to act first and think later.

He was exactly what Melody needed and to top it off, he was hot as hell.

She felt her cheeks burn as the memory back at the hospital suddenly came to her. Melody could still taste his lips from that stolen kiss and the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

Holy crap! This idea wasn't going away. What was she going to do?

Her feet quickly found the hotel bar across the far side of the lobby. It was in darkness and the lone bartender was just cleaning up before his shift ended.  With a little gentle persuasion Melody managed to find herself with a nice line of vodka shots. She was one shot down when Dean found her.

"Mel! Are you sure you are ok?" that gravelly tone sent a shiver down her spine, as she looked round to face him.

"I'm fine" her voice almost hoarse. It was the first thing she had said out loud since leaving the dead demon. She swallowed down the second glass.

"So What's with you main-lining vodka?" he asked with concern.

Her feet found themselves stepping closer to the 6ft predator. Her heart beginning to thump hard as she considered her reply.

"Courage!" came the answer and she swallowed down the third shot.

"Courage for what?!"

Melody's hand slowly reached to the collar on his shirt. She prayed he couldn't see it shake as she took hold and pulled him down the short distance to meet her eyes.

"Courage to make the first move"

Her lips met his with a more meaningful purpose than the last time she kissed him. His mouth burned  and Melody could feel the flip of her stomach at being so close to him.

"Mel, this really, really......... really is not a good idea" his words came out throaty, his eyes all the while fixed upon her lips.

Melody pulled away the slightest bit. He was probably right. She was looking for a short fix to a big problem. By morning Melody would be right back where she started, worrying about the future. But two things were stopping her from walking away. One was the strong rough hand that found its way under her shirt to the bare skin at the small of her back, pulling her closer to him and the other reason,  was when she had pressed her lips to his, Dean kissed her back so completely it made her whole body feel weak.

Yeah...She wasn't going anywhere.

Melody needed this and she had to make him understand that. She looked into his eyes, realising for the first time that they were green. Unmistakably so. How had she never noticed that before?

"I'm scared Dean" She whispered, and could see from his eyes, that Dean knew she was talking about her uncertain future.

"I just need one night where I don't have to think about it all" she said, feeling his fingers on her back grip her a little tighter, making her feel almost breathless.

"In the morning I'll be out of your life forever. Do you think you can give me what I need, just for one night?" she almost begged.

Dean's eyes lifted to meet hers for a moment before resting back on her lips. It took less than a second for him to decide, as he crashed his mouth against hers. Who was he to deny a last request.

Melody could feel 'need' rising as they embraced. Her hand found its way to the back pocket of his jeans and she found the second key card. She forced herself away from his hold long enough to guide him towards the elevators and up to the room.

Pulling him through the door, her fingers once again found the collar of his shirt. Although it was more of a jacket really. She pushed it off his back to reveal another shirt underneath. Melody couldn't help growl a little in frustration.

"You know what? You wear too many clothes" she snarled, then kicked the door closed and disappeared into the room.

* * *

  
Melody woke up feeling sunlight on her face. Morning rays beamed through the gap in the curtains' sending heavenly streams across the room. She was naked and she was alone. The bedside clock ticked over showing it to be just after 10.30. She wrapped the bed sheet further around herself recalling all that had happened.

The night had been a success. She could honestly say there hadn't been a single moment when her thoughts had strayed towards her unknown future. But now in the cold light of day she felt strange. It took her a minute to recognised the feeling. With Dean gone, Melody felt sad and a little used.

It was supposed to have just been sex. Both of them had been clear on that. Just a diversion to get her through the night. It had started out that way. Melody had made sure of it. Once they had got into the bedroom and she had removed the majority of his clothes, she had pushed him to the bed. Those damn layers he always wore had done a good job hiding what was underneath. He had one hell of a decent body and she made sure it was put to good use. At one point she even managed to pull her name achingly from his lips. But somewhere in the middle of things , everything changed. Her dominance had gone and Dean started making the rules.

Sat upright in the empty bed, Melody could feel the heat rising back through her body, just remembering what had gone down in the night.

She could still feel those hot soft lips trace down her body as she laid on the bed. The feel of his stubble brushing against her skin, sending goose bumps right across her flesh. He'd kissed her neck, her chest, her stomach, ever moving south. There was a place on her hip that caused her to moan, making him give it some special attention, he seemed to have enjoyed pulling those reactions from her.

Melody moved the bed sheet away,  to see the mark he had left on her hip. A love bite, a hickey.

There was purpose to every touch he made. Melody was left breathless while he made his moves. They weren't fast and hard, mean or angry as they should have been, but something else entirely. They were deep and feverish. The guy was good, very good at what he did and the two of them seem to just fit right.

It was just like the first time she held that Demon blade. The weight and grip in her hand felt like it was made for her. That was how Dean felt to Melody. The weight of his body pressed against hers and the pressure of his lips as he kissed her, just felt so right. Back in that hotel lobby at the beginning of the night, Melody had dismissed the idea of one brother fearing she might fall in love and opted for the safer choice, only to find herself in the exact situation she didn't want to be in.

Dean Winchester had made her feel things she hadn't wanted to and now he was gone forever.

Melody threw the sheets off the bed letting cool air to her body, that was now burning up remembering their time together. The bedside clock continued to tick over, reminding her that time was forcing her into a new life. It was supposed to be a clean start. No boxes left open and especially no hearts. She picked up that damn ticking clock and threw it across the room.

"Son of a bitch"


	11. Creating Distance

  
Him.....

Sam stepped out into the corridor closing the bedroom door behind him. Brushing hair away from his face, he turned to see his brother sat on the floor leaning against the door of the adjacent room. Dean's head was in his hands and took him a good few moments to notice Sam standing there. They exchanged a look that told Sam everything he needed to know. He knew his brother a little too well.

When Melody hadn't followed her cousin to the bedroom the evening before, Sam had gone back down to check everything was ok, as soon as Libby had crashed out on the bed. He'd had the unfortunate timing to catch Melody and Dean in the hotel bar and knew at that point, he would have to find an alternative place to sleep.

Looking down at his brother sat on the floor, he held out a hand to pull the weary guy to his feet. Dean did not possess that twinkle in his eye, that cocky smirk, or that 'cat got the cream' look he usually had after a night with a beautiful woman. Instead anguish was written across his face. Dean had let this girl in. Sam could see it so clearly, which only meant one thing. Between the two of them, they had lost almost everyone they've ever cared about. The pain carried around with them was unbearable, and Dean had added another name to the list of future heartbreak.

"Did you at least say goodbye to her?" Sam asked. Dean just shook his head with shame.  
He had gone up to that room for just a few hours of fun. But somewhere in the middle the girl had bewitched him.

Her feisty exterior he'd been attracted to, turned out to be an act. She played it very well, but as they lay in bed together he could see her nervousness, saw how her hands shook and she just looked so damn vulnerable. Some of that armour Dean built around his heart had just melted straight through. He'd considered saying goodbye. He'd laid next to Her while she slept, debating whether to wake her for one last kiss. To wish her luck for the future. But in the end he decided against it. It seemed easier to leave her be.

"Probably for the best" Sam replied? It sounded like a harsh comment but it was safer for Melody to not get entangled any further with the Winchesters. She would have a chance at a better life, if she never spoke to them again. Dean pulled out the car keys and threw them at Sam.

"Come on lets blow this joint, you're driving".

* * *

 

**One year later**

The brothers stood deep underground at a disused subway station. They were in the middle of another mission to save the world, but had temporarily put it all on hold to help out Garth on a case. Their gawky fellow hunter was struggling to gank a scuttling monster, that had managed to frighten away even the rats. The habitual hugger could tell his case was a well needed rest from their current long term assignment. He had been listening to Sam and Dean's constant fractious remarks ever since they showed up. They were brothers and they loved each other, but Garth could tell this was on of those times when the boys just really wanted to hit each other in the face. In the middle of disagreeing on what the actual monster could be, Garth's phone rang and he stepped away to answer, leaving the boys still growling in the background.

"Hi, yeah I've got time to talk.....tell me what you know so far?.....and how long has it been happening?... ok! Well Melody it's sounds to me that you've got yourself a Wraith. What you'll need to do is....." The phone was whipped away from his ear and Garth turned to see it in Dean's hand. The scowl was deep on the brother's face as he held the receiver towards Garth.

"Is it Melody Graves on the other end of this phone?" he asked and watched Garth nod, totally confused to what was going on. Dean slowly put the receiver to his ear.

"Mel?" the was a pause at the other end, which Dean took to mean she recognised his voice.

"Hey Dean" came her short dispassionate reply.

"What the hell are you doing?" his words came out scarily calm, but had a clear darkness about them.

He hadn't contacted Melody or Libby in the whole  twelve months since they last saw each other. He just didn't want to complicate things. Curiosity had got the better of him just the one time, when he conceded and asked Sam if he'd heard from the girls. Sam had managed to speak to Libby and discovered that they had both returned to their home town. Libby had gone back to college and Melody was working in a bakery. Knowing they were both alive and safe, had been all Dean needed to know.

"I'm doing a job, don't worry about it" Melody replied. Being told that she was working a case, was the last thing Dean wanted to hear.

"Tell me where this job of yours is?" His calm was still in tact but now he had to screw his eyes closed in order to keep it that way.

"Look I'd don't have time to chat at the moment, maybe we can talk later...."

"Mel! Tell me where the hell you are now! or I'm going to beat the information out of Garth" the calm tone had well and truly gone. There was quiet on the other end of the phone and Dean was starting to worry that she was not ok.

"Don't....don't beat up Garth.....I've....I've got to go...." She hung up, Dean was sure  something didn't sound right.

"Mel! Mel! Just freaking awesome" Dean yelled almost throwing the phone across the subway station, then remembering it wasn't his to throw. He rounded on his skinny colleague.

"She's in Preston about 30 miles North of here" Garth blurted, fearful of the impending threat of violence.

"Is Libby with her?" Garth shook his head.

"You let her go out on her own to fight a Wraith?" the boom echoed through the arched tunnels.

"Well I didn't know it was a Wraith until she described it just now, at which point I was about to suggest she hangs fire and waits for backup, but you just happened to yank the phone away from me". Garth stepped forward and shouted back at the oldest Winchester.

Dean took a deep breath trying to step back from the edge of his anger and looked to Sam for help. The girl he had tried not to think about for a year was fighting a Wraith on her own. He needed to go and help her but didn't want to leave his brother.

"Me and Garth have this covered here. Go and help her out" Sam permitted, knowing that Melody's immediate safety outweighed any romantic complications that might later arise.

* * *

 

Her......

Melody had shut herself into a back room at the community centre. A Wraith! Garth had said .What the hell was one of those? She pulled out her phone and searched the internet for any information she could get on the creature. Her head felt a little heavy as she stared at the screen. Hallucinations! It had the ability to make her imagine things.

Her brain was telling her that she had already been affected. She felt dizzy and had imagined speaking to Dean on the phone. Her eyes couldn't seem to focus and as she  looked up, she thought she saw Libby standing at the door for a moment. Yeah, definitely hallucinations.  This was not good! Her hands gripped the table for balance, as she tried to stay calm and clear her head. But there wasn't enough time. The door was kicked open and a woman who Melody quickly realised was the Wraith, came walking into the room. She wasn't about to give her self up to this bitch. Melody moved across the room throwing chairs and other furniture in the way of the monster. But it was no use, she felt drugged and it wasn't long before the wraith got the upper hand and pounced on Her.

Melody punched and kicked and made it hard for the creature to get a hold. It was a good effort, but the wraith was stronger and eventually it had Melody pinned to a table. She watched helplessly as a strange spike began to grow out of the woman's wrist, it was getting closer to Melody's head and she writhed to get out of its reach. There was a crash at the far end of the room, Melody looked over and could see Dean standing there. Her brain wouldn't accept that it was actually him. It must just be another hallucination. She turned away from him, focusing on her last struggle to keep the wraith away.

"Mel! Mel!" he was shouting her name and pushing through fallen furniture to get close to her. His voice caused her to look back at him for a moment. She saw something flash in his hand. A knife!

"Mel, silver!" he shouted then hurled the knife over to her. Melody caught it and felt its physical presence. It felt cold and real and she swiftly hacked at the monsters spike. It screamed out in pain, falling backwards closer to where Dean stood. Melody watched as he leaped forward and stabbed the thing in the heart with his own silver dagger. At that point it was over. The monster was left dying on the floor.

Melody laid back on the table, exhausted and slowly starting to regain her focus and clear her head. After a moment she tilted her face to see Dean still stood, with the bloody knife in his hand.

"How...how did you find me?" she asked breathlessly.

Dean eyed her with annoyance.

"That damned pink campervan is parked right outside".


	12. The Ones Who Listened

Her....

The way out of the community centre was at the end of a narrow corridor, away from the room where they both still stood. Melody had caught her breath fully and was taking a moment to observe her rescuer. Dean stood and wiped blood from the blade he'd used to destroy the monster. He looked older, weary even. It had been a year since she'd last seen him and the best way to describe him standing there was battle worn.

There was talk around the other hunters, that something big was going down and that's what was accounting for the surge of supernatural activity, Melody had lately witnessed. She had never attached weight to the tales told. Hunters liked to embellish and hyperbolize a situation for dramatic effect. Looking at Dean though, she began to wonder if there was truth in all the rumours. She had learned a while back that the Winchesters were usually at the centre of any 'big bad' going down and he certainly looked like he'd been put through the wringer a few times. But apart from all that, he still seemed the same. Strong ,dominating, in control and very irritable. Whatever apocalyptic case he was deep in, Dean had still come to help her, save her.

"You ready to go? he asked, bending to grip what was left of the wraith and dragging it across the floor to a supply closet. She nodded hauling herself off the table and helping to hide away the monster. There wasn't time to clean up properly. The community centre was well used and it wouldn't be long before a number of evening classes were due to begin.

The strenuous activity in moving the creature brought on a dizzy spell for Melody. Maybe the wraith's poison hadn't completely left her system. She tried to straighten up, but ended up stumbling slightly as the room swayed around her. Dean took hold of her arm steadying her, his brow knitted tight with concern. It took just a few seconds for her head to clear, then she pushed Dean back, sending a little hostility his way.

The small show of aggression was unconsciously done. It seemed that even though he had just saved her life, Melody was still a little sore over the fact that she'd woken up alone in that hotel a year ago and never heard from him since.

"Thanks for the help but now I've got to go. I'll see you around" she blurted out and headed through of the door into the corridor. She had managed to get about half way down when he called after her.

"Mel, we need to talk" he insisted and it made her stop and turn back for a moment.

"What could we possibly need to talk about, we haven't spoken to each other in over a year" she declared, immediately screwing her eyes closed, regretting the statement.

Damn it!, she sounded like a woman scorned.

She was better than this. Stronger. She was sure that night meant nothing more to him than a one time hook-up. Which was exactly what she had begged him for in the hotel bar. Any feelings she had were her own and she needed to get control over them.

"We need to talk about what you were doing here tonight and why you aren't upstate somewhere making pies and baking cakes like you are supposed to be"

He knew. How did he know about the bakery?

"It's my life Dean, I can do what I want with it. Please don't concern yourself" she turned away once more and continued up thr corridor. 

* * *

  
Him.....

Dean stood watching her walk away, a little shocked at her attitude. He was the one who was supposed to be angry with her, not the other way round. He left his brother and Garth alone on a case to save her ass, because she was not living a nice normal life like she should have been.

"Just wait a minute will you?" Dean shouted, insistent that this wasn't the end of their conversation. To his annoyance she ignored him and continued walking, forcing him to exert some energy and catch her fast pace. He called out a couple more times but she kept on going. In the end Dean grabbed her wrist, pulling her back forcefully. She fell into the wall and he held her against it until she quit trying to pull away.

He was stood close, much closer than he needed to be. All he wanted to do was shout at her. Tell how stupid she was for leaving what could be a good life and coming back to a world of almost certain death. He didn't understand it, didn't even want to understand it. But something changed standing that close to her. A scent suddenly hit him hard. It could have been her shampoo, soap or the faint float of perfume, but Dean had spent so long surrounded by dirt, blood and sulphur, that her scent almost bowled him over.

His anger turned to desire and brought back the memory of that night in the hotel. Mechanically his hips bucked against her. Melody's tall stature brought them almost inline and reminded him, just how well they fit together. The smallest intake of breaths from Melody brought him back to reality and he realised just how close his own lips were to hers. Dean placed an outstretched arm to the wall close to her head, it acted as a barrier, ensuring he didn't get any closer than he already was. He was fairly sure that his arm there, was the only thing stopping him from pressing his lips against hers.

The cold feel of stone against his hand, cleared his head a little and he remembered what he wanted to speak to her about.

"You were supposed to be the ones who listened" he said exhaustedly, into the air that hung between them. Melody looked up puzzled as he continued.

"Do you know how many times me and Sammy have told people to get out of this life?"

"Hundreds" he said answering his own question.

"And none of them ever listen. They end up dead or watch their families die and just spend the rest of their lives living in this hell hole" he added bitterly.

"But you and Libby were supposed to be the ones who listened. The one's that gave me hope, that we are not doomed to repeat the same crap." He continued, still leaning into her as close as he could.

"Yet here you are, following in everyone else's footsteps." He felt Melody put a hand to his chest causing him to stare into her apologetic eyes.

"I tried Dean. I went to work everyday. Had an apartment, dated a couple of guys, but I just couldn't do it. I'd lay awake at night hearing noises and imagining all the demons and monsters running around unchecked, ruining lives. The only way I can get to sleep is to be out here stopping them. Making a difference." She said, her words growing with purpose as she spoke.

Dean couldn't deny that the strength and will of hers turned him on. She was so hot when she was being determined. He felt her shiver under him and realised that his other hand was brushing against her hip. Just over the place he'd left his mark, that night they were together. He managed to drag his eyes away from her lips long enough to look at that place that he'd once kissed and made her moan his name. His thumb lightly ran across something there. Black writing. Studying it a little longer, he realised it was a tattoo. Two words inked in Latin.

_Nihil Timor._

He took a step away from her, the heat that had slowly been building within him quickly diminishing .

"It means....."

"I know what it means Mel" Dean gruffly said.

"It says something like 'Fearless' or 'No Fear' Right?. I had a weapon once with something similar engraved on it". Dean spoke, remembering 'The Colt' he and Sam were once in possession of.

"Why is it there? in that place?" Dean asked hesitantly, still rubbing his thumb over the words even though there was a little distance between them. She hesitated to answer and Dean stepped back a little further afraid of what she was going to say.

"I....I got it because it reminds me of you. You make me feel fearless. You make me feel safe"

His back was now well against the opposite wall of the corridor. He felt sick as her words registered in his brain.

'You make me feel safe'

Who had he ever managed to keep safe? Lisa and Ben? He led them into so much trouble, that removing their memories was the only way to keep them alive. Ellen and Jo? They had followed him straight into their own deaths and Bobby..... Well, Bobby's loss was just too fresh to even start thinking about.

"I don't keep people safe. I just put them in harm's way" he said letting his words sink into Melody's head. She stepped forward mystified by his comments.

"What do you mean you don't keep people safe? You saved my life just 10 minutes ago." she said with exasperation.

"Yeah and you wouldn't have been here in the first place if it wasn't for me and Sammy" he argued back. She shrugged her shoulders in confusion to what he was getting at.

"Do you really think you and Libby would still be hunting down monsters, if your only contacts were Crazy Dave and ruthless George Palmer? You would have given it all up and never looked back a long time ago. Sam and me found you at that diner, offered you a little bit of kindness and now you've imagined there is some kind of connection between us. A connection that will end up getting you killed."

He forced himself to look her in the eye, knowing that the return stare would probably make him feel like shit. But he needed to say it. He needed to push her away. Dean couldn't watch another person he cared about die under his watch. She needed to cut him loose and go back home to her apartment and her bakery.

"I can't make you feel safe, Mel. I can't make you feel fearless" he paused.

"I can't and I won't" he added making clear his meaning. He waited there for an argument, a reaction, something from her. But nothing came, only silence. She was hurt , he could see it in her eyes, but he didn't regret his efforts to push her away. If it allowed her to live a long happy life then he would never regret it.

Both heard a sudden clatter from the room they had come from. Their heads whipped round to that direction. They edged forward towards the noise. Dean pulling a revolver from around his back. He held an arm in front of Melody stopping her from advancing.

"Just stay put, I'll check it out" he said, silently creeping to the door and easing it an inch open to peer into the room. A short older woman was inside the room cursing at the mess as she lifted chairs and turned them upright. Dean watched her for a minute seeing if she went near the closed supply closet. It wouldn't be long before she or someone else would find what was left of the dead wraith.

"Come on let's split" he whispered back to Melody behind him, then turned to see her gone.

'Damn it Mel ' he mumbled to himself, running to the exit and out into the cool evening air. She couldn't have gone far in that short time. He walked around the building looking, but she was nowhere to be seen. As he got towards the Impala, Dean suddenly heard a noise, a vicious growl. He turned to come face to face with a set of fangs that came straight at him. He lost his footing, falling backwards with the weight of the fanged creature on top of him. Dean hit something hard.

Then everything just faded to black.


	13. If You Want Blood

Her..........

 

_At_ _least_ _he was still_ _breathing_.

Melody had seen it all happen. She had been leaning against her VW camper van, hiding from Dean. He'd been searching around the back of the community centre for her when, out of the shadows came a rather ugly-looking vampire who swiftly launched itself at the Winchester and she watched her boy go down hard. Any heroic retaliation by Dean was halted by the fact that he hit his head on the side of a park bench and was out cold. Reactions took over and Melody found herself pulling a machete from the van and running at the vampire, swinging straight for its head.

Now she had Dean slumped unconscious in the passenger seat of the camper and a headless vamp in the back. Her foot had the peddle to the metal and she sped down the dark roads towards Sam and Garth.

"At least he is still breathing" Melody quietly repeated while she drove.

It had been her fault, all this had happened. If she hadn't run away, if she hadn't been at the community centre in the first place.

Oh God, What if I've killed Dean Winchester?!

The terrifying thought almost made her career off the road with panic. The sudden pull of the van,jerked around its occupants and she heard Dean shift slightly.

"Hey!" the small word was barely audible, but Melody heard it and it was the greatest sound in the world. Taking her eyes of the road for a moment she looked over and saw that he was awake. A look of pain flited across his face.

"...No...not the pink van!" he croaked, then tried to sit up. Melody watched him struggle for a minute, then saw the whites of his eyes as he passed out again. She couldn't help but give a hysterical laugh. Did he really just use his one and only conscious moment to criticize her choice of vehicle again?

Sam and Garth were waiting outside the hospital. As she pulled up Sam helped carry his comatose brother from the van and into the ER. He didn't stop to talk, or even look at Melody as he whipped Dean away into the care of hospital staff. She was left in the waiting room staring at the empty corridor the Winchesters had just disappeared down. She wiped hair away from her eyes and discovered her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

"He'll be fine you know" a voice said and made her jump. She turned to realise Garth was standing behind her.

"A bump to the head won't even make the list of injuries he has overcome, Melody"

She looked at Garth and was grateful of his attempts to ease her worry. But it wasn't working, she felt sick that it was all her fault. Looking away, Melody could feel her eyes start to well and she had to mentally pull herself together. She was tough,feisty Melody Graves. She would not fall apart for a guy who told her less than an hour earlier, that she'd only imagined a connection between them.

"So I hear you have a dead vamp to dispose of" Garth added, causing her to smile gratefully. That was the perfect distraction she needed. Travelling alone without her cousin, Melody generally found herself sleeping in the van at some convenient lay-by. It may not have seemed the wisest of ways for a single girl to spent her nights, but the arsenal of knives and guns hidden under the back seats meant that any would-be attacker would more than likely come off worse for wear . Although the van saved on money, Melody couldn't bring herself to sleep there, when the essence of headless vamp still lingered. So after completing the monster clean up with Garth, she found herself in a typical Winchester style motel.

Her eyes started to close while watching an at old 'friends' rerun on the TV, until a solid knock at the door startled her. She pulled out her revolver while climbing to her feet and crept to the door. Melody peered through the door hole to see Sam standing there.  
She welcomed him in and Sam sat at the table while Melody offered him a beer. He took it thankfully and took a sip.

"I just came to check you were ok and let you know that Dean is fine, but they are keeping him overnight. He's pretty pissed at having to stay in bed, but medically he's ok" Sam sighed and Melody wondered if one of the reasons he had come by the motel, was to get away from his brothers tetchy behaviour. She felt the weight of guilt starting to lift from her shoulders at hearing the news. Sam looked around the room as he drank down the beer, starting to frown at what he saw.

"So What's with this dive, I thought you preferred a better class of hotels?" he asked

"Convenience" Melody neatly replied. The truth was she no longer had money. Her inherited wealth had been well and truly shunned. From turning eight years old Melody had wanted for nothing. But that money was earned by her aunt making a deal with a demon. It was dirty money, and it had always made Melody feel sick to spend it. But Libby had convinced her to use it to avenge her Aunts death. Now that had been done, she had wiped her hands of the fortune.

"And why is Libby not with you?" Sam followed up noting that the girl's relationship had always seemed to be a lot like his and Dean's.

"She doesn't know I'm here" Melody answered.

She hadn't told her cousin she had gone back to hunting. Libby was out at college doing well for herself, even had a boyfriend who had a passing resemblence to a certain angel they all knew, but there was a strong possibility that if Melody had told the blonde, then Libby would have dropped out and followed her across the country.

"She'll find out eventually" Sam warned, a fact Melody was well aware of, but she was determined that 'eventually' would be as far away in the future as possible. They chatted for a while longer, Melody easing into the conversation once realising that the tall, handsome brother did not hold her responsible for Dean's injuries. He informed her that they were staying in town a little longer and taking a closer look at the community centre. A vampire and a wraith at the same location, at the same time was strange and they wandered if it all was linked to the big case he and Dean were working on.

Melody on the other hand would not be sticking around. She'd received a call for help from a hunter back east and had agreed to go at her earliest convenience. Sam took his cue to leave, after watching the brunette's eyelids grow heavy the longer they chatted.

"You look after yourself Melody and make sure you stay in touch" he finished and she somehow managed to find enough energy to see him to the door, before she passed out on the bed.

Within no time that familiar dream came. She welcomed the colours that always calmed her but for the first time all the vague blurs started to form and focus. The pinks became lips, lips that she had kissed, the green's became eyes and that feeling of safety she always felt became those strong arms of Dean's, that had once wrapped around her.

Melody awoke with a start. Her dream, it was Dean. All this time she had been dreaming of him. Whenever she felt overwhelmed or anxious that dream had come, Dean had come and calmed her through sleep, made her feel safe. She put her hand to her head, trying to understand it all. She was sure she'd had the dream long before meeting the brothers for first time, in that diner. It was so confusing. After lying awake a while trying to make sense of it all, Melody decided it was time to get up, before it drove her crazy.

Her body was stiff and it took some effort to get out of bed. The previous day had been one hell of a workout. Battling wraith and vampires, manhandling large unconscious fighters into vans and disposing of dead monsters, really pulled on the muscles. After stretching out a little, Melody took on the task of cleaning out the van, removing any trace left of the headless beast. Every ache of her body served as a reminder to how unfit she had become. With that in mind and seeing that the new day was still only thinking about starting, she decided to go for a run.

The rhythmic pounding of pavement beneath her feet had in the past acted as a way to clear her mind, but for some reason that wasn't happening this time. Instead she found Dean once again forcing his way in to her thoughts, with every thump of her street bound sneakers. It hurt to hear him say there was no connection between them. Melody wished it hadn't hurt, she wished she didn't care... but she did.

Hunting evil beings required a lot of courage and mental strength. Melody didn't have that kind of stuff inbuilt. She needed to find, every time she walked into an abandoned warehouse or haunted house. For a long time just the necessity to get revenge on her Aunt's killer provided her with the strength needed, but over time she found that wasn't enough. She had begun to use Dean as a kind of rock. A tower of strength that helped her focus on her role as a hunter. Her 'fearless' tattoo was like a talisman. Just having it there, always with her made her believe she had Dean's strength with her too. And now after the dream she realised she'd been using him for courage even unconsciously.

' _You've_ _imagined_ _there_ _is some kind of connection_ _between_ _us_ '

Those words back at the community seem to be engraved in her mind. They'd had one night of fun a year ago and that's all it had been. On the surface it was just a throwaway night together, but deep down she felt something more between them. Had she really just imagined that. It certainly did feel imagined, when he'd held her against the wall in that corridor. When he pressed his body against hers. When she could feel his hot breath against her neck. There was something there, she was sure of it.

Melody's breathing started to quicken as her feet persisted to thump against asphalt and her mind continued its analysis. Why would he deny it? Maybe he was scared of committing so something? That thought made her laugh out loud. She was sure Dean Winchester wasn't  capable of being scared.

But then she remembered the feeling of driving the unconscious Brother to the hospital. The idea of losing him, hurt. It was down right painful. It was in those moments she realised Dean was more than a talisman to her. She had fallen for him. And even the most novice of hunters knew, that those kind of emotions never led anywhere good.

So maybe that was it. Fear of letting someone in and caring for them. Maybe he was pushing her away to save them both from something that just couldn't possibly work out. Sprinting the last couple of streets, Melody's run finally came to an end, as the sun had found its way above the surrounding buildings. She was severely out of breath and decided that the run may have not been the best of ideas. Her hands dropped to her knees, which felt like jelly and her head fell low, as she swallowed back huge gulps of air.

Standing in the parking lot, back at the motel and almost ready to collapse, Melody looked up her pink camper van. She loved that ride. It had been a gift. The last one from her high school boyfriend before he was taken and used as a vessel for the satanic monster within. Roscoe's older sister had gone off to college and the thing had just been sat in storage, so it was given to Melody. She loved it because it forced her to remember the good events she had shared with her first love and not the image of his invaded body ripping apart her aunt.

Straightening up and standing tall, Melody walked around the back of the van. She turned the corner and came face to face with the man who just wouldn't leave her head.  
Dean was leaning leisurely against the left side of her van. Long legs stretched out, boots crossed over. He sipped coffee and held what looked like a bear claw. He looked good, very good in fact.

She took a step towards him and watched as he pulled himself off the camper to face her. He gave her the once over with his eyes, at which point she realised what a state she must look. All sweaty and dishevelled after her run. The picture of health and fitness she was not. Libby would have never found herself in this situation. She always looked beautiful and perfect. Upon stepping closer however she saw that his study of her was not one of shock or dismay but something else entirely. Something that filled her stomach with butterflies and made her already hot skin burn even more.

How could he possibly look at her in that way. Her face was so flushed and sweat beaded down her forehead and across her chest. Then she realised. The last time Dean had seen her anywhere near to being so over-exerted was the night they had spent together.

And he had been the one who had made her look that way.

Holy Crap she was about to spontaneously combust if she didn't find a way to cool down fast.

Melody took steps to move her jelly legs passed Dean and into the motel room. First stop was the bathroom where she forced her wrists under the cold water then cupped handfuls of it, splashing it across her face and neck.

"What is it you want Dean?" she asked a little more aggressively than intended. Her inability to get control over her body temperature was starting to aggravate her.

"I just wanted to check you were ok and thank you for saving my life last night" he replied. His eyes fixed on her rapidly rising chest, that just illustrated how far her pulse still to return to resting rate.

"Sam checked on me last night and you needn't thank me, you wouldn't have been there in the first place if it hadn't been for me" she replied, using a towel to dry off the cold water on her face. Somehow he was once again stood close in front of her. Within the bounds of personal space. She had to wonder if this was how they would always talk to each other now. It certainly didn't feel like the actions of someone that claimed a connection was only imaginary.

She needed to ask him for the truth.

"I know that being a hunter is not just a job, but a way of life. It comes first always. Anything else just gets in the way. You can't make promises to another person because you don't know if you'll be alive long enough to keep them. I get all that". She said and could feel Dean's body language start to change. He could sense the direction of the conversation that was getting ready to bail. Melody needed to get her words out quick.

"But you and me..." she paused to look up into his green eyes.

"We are totally hot for each other, whatever wall we both erected to stop his happening has failed us, because you have let me in and I have done the same" she said and watched Dean shake his head trying to deny her words.

"Don't do this Mel" he begged.

"You can't imagine how much it hurts when you lose everyone you care about". he added.

Melody looked away for a moment. How could he say that to her? She had lost her first love and watched as he went on to kill the only parental figure she'd ever known. She more than understood about the pain.

"The pain is a reminder that we are human Dean, sometimes it feels unbearable, but it's what separates us from these monsters we are fighting" she said but Dean just shook his head, He'd heard all the arguments before and was unwilling to accept what she was saying.

"I'm not asking for us to shack up together Dean, I'm not planning on joining you and your brother on the road. We have our own lives. Most of the time we will be a hundred miles away from each other. I just thought it would be nice to accept and admit the way we feel and to be there for each other. Nothing big, maybe the occasional phone call, send each other a text from time to time, maybe a hot make out session once a year or sex in the car" she suggested with a cheeky smile.

She watched him take all the information in. His eyes cast down, letting the ideas settle. But in the end he went back to shaking his head.

"I can't do it Mel, I'm sorry"

Melody stepped away, a wave of sadness passing throughout her body. The pain of loss they had just discussed threatened to squeeze at her heart and her shoulders slumped forward with disappointment. Life as a hunter was a lonely one, she had hoped that having Dean in her life, even if only occasionally, would keep her company, but it was not to be. She would still have her tattoo to give her courage and the memories of that night in the hotel. That would just have to do. He walked out of the door and Melody couldn't even bring herself to say goodbye.

* * *

 

 

Him.........

Dean drove on autopilot. He looked out of the windscreen having no recollection of how he managed to get to the tree-lined road he drove along. To say he was distracted was an understatement. He had done the right thing. That was what he was telling himself, over and over. It could never work, it would end badly. He wanted to believe all that so much, so why were his hands fixed on the wheel, ready to make a one-eighty at any given moment.

He continued on the road to meet Sam. That's what he needed to concentrate on. Working together with his brother. Saving people, hunting things - the family business? Stuff he knew how to do.

Hoping the radio would help ease his mind, Dean reached for the knob turning it on. AC/DC filtered through the car. It had been a while since he had heard the song. It gave him a strange feeling. He couldn't quite place it but it forced him to think back and recall a memory. He was sat in a bar feeling sorry for himself and there had been a girl. Dean pulled the car over. This memory was from so long ago, he struggled to recall it. So much had happened in his life since then. But he remembered the girl. He remembered watching her, worried that she needed help, but then watching as she tore an unwanted suitor a new one. As he went to leave their eyes briefly met. Just a moment or two but it was enough to forge a connection. The girl had been tall, she was strong, she was sexy. She was Melody Graves! His Melody Graves!

Damn. It! It seemed that fate had been forcing them to find each other. He realised now, they'd had a connection since the moment he'd met her eyes in that bar. The steering wheel was already on full lock, as he shifted the Impala back in the direction he had just come from.

Sometime later, he knocked impatiently on the motel door feeling surprisingly calm. He was at his best when winging it. Act first, face the consequences later. It's how he and Sam lived their lives. Melody opened the door genuinely shocked to see him standing there, and Dean as good as pushed her inside, eager to get his thoughts out.

"We've met before" he stated, looking at the truly beautiful woman stood in front of him.

"Before what?" she asked looking confused to what was going on.

"Before the diner. We kind of met in a bar. You were being chatted up by a loser wearing too much denim" he said, as she took some time to recall the memory.

She did remember, vaguely. She remembered trucker-cap man and the guy at the bar watching over them, ready to step in if denim dude caused too much trouble. Even back then he'd been trying to keep her safe.

"The dream, that's when it started" she laughed, and although the Dean didn't understand what that meant, the look of joy on her face made him join her in a smile. She looked relieved, as though everything suddenly made sense.

"Ok, I remember that we have met before, why have you come all the way back here to tell me that?" Melody asked. Dean felt a small amount of nerves for the first time.

"I want to give it a try" he said, watching as Melody held her breath while he continued.

"I want to try the phone calls, text messages, hot yearly make-out sessions and sex in the car."  He told her. There was a kind of magnetic pull Dean felt every time he was in the same room as Melody. He was constantly fighting against it, but now he just gave in and let his lips quickly find hers.

She tasted sweet and he inhaled that familiar flowery scent he loved so much. His hands moved around her back pulling her into him, as close as possible. He knew they didn't have much time together, Melody was on her way East to help another hunter and Dean needed to go find Sam. This is how it was always going to be for them and Dean was finally ok with that.

He moved his mouth towards her ear, and felt her shiver, as he gently breathed against her neck.

"Which one on the list do you want to do first?" he quietly asked. Melody moved away long enough to look him in the eyes. He swore for a moment he saw they had the devil in them. She took him by the hand and led him out of the room into the parking lot.

_Sex in the car!_

Dean gave a lazy smile as he looked over to the Impala and followed her lead. But she pulled him away from his car and Dean turned to come face to face with the pink mystery machine. He nearly choked at the idea.

"There is no way in hell...." he tried to protest, but Melody had already got his belt buckle undone, pulled open the side door and pushed him inside.


End file.
